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THE  *   TT^ 

WOMEN  OF  ISRAEL. 


GRAOE  AGUILAR, 

AUTHOR  OF  "wOMAN't;  FRIENDSHIP,"   "  MOTHEK's  RECOMPENSE," 
"  VALE  OF  CEDAHS,"  ETC. 


VOL  I. 


NEW-YORK : 

D.  APPLETON  &  COMPANY,  200  BROADWAV 

1853. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2010  with  fundirtg  from 

University  of  North  Carolina  at  Chapel  Hill 


http://www.archive.org/details/womenofisraelOOagu 


CONTENTS   OF   VOLUME   I. 


pvea 
INTRtrUCTlON  .........  7 

FIRST   PERIOD. 

WIVES   OF    THE    PATKIARCHS. 

CHAPTER   I. 

Eve .        .      19 

CHAPTER    II. 

Sarah 44 

CHAPTER    III. 

Rebekah 76 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Leah  and  Rachel 107 

SECOND   PERIOD. 

THE    EXODUS    AND    THE    LAW. 
CHAPTER    I. 

Egyptian  Captivity,  and  Joehebed 134 

CHAPTER    11. 

Tlie  Exodus  —Mothers  of  Israel 150 

CHAPTER    in. 

\^  fjuws  for  Wives  in  Israel       ........     158 

j\  CHAPTER    IV. 

^.   Laws  for  Widows  and  Daughters  in  Israel    .         .  .         .     173 

Jl  CHAPTER    V. 

f>^  Maid  Servants  in  Israel,  and  Sundry  other  Laws  ....     190 

ci 


Tl  CONTENTS. 

PAGB 

THIRD  PERIOD. 

BETWEEN    THE    DELIVERY   OF    THE    LAW,    AND    THE    MONARCHY. 
CHAPTER    I. 

Miriam 203 

CHAPTER    II. 

Tabernacle  Workers. — Caleb's  Daughter 211 

CHAPTER    III. 

Deborah      .         .         .         .         • 218 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Wife  of  Manoah 227 

CHAPTER    V. 

Naomi 236 

CHAPTER    VI. 

Hannah 254 


THK 


WOMEN    OE    ISKAEL 


INTRODUCTION. 

Among  the  many  valuable  works  relative  to  woman's  capa 
bilities,  influence,  and  mission,  which  in  the  present  age  are  so 
continually  appearing,  one  still  seems  wanting.  The  field  has, 
indeed,  been  entered ;  detached  notices  of  the  women  of  Israel, 
the  female  biography  of  Scripture,  have  often  formed  interesting 
portions  of  those  works,  where  woman  is  the  subject ;  but  all  the 
fruit  has  not  been  gathered :  much  yet  remains,  which,  thrown 
together,  would  form  a  history  as  instructive  as  interesting,  as 
full  of  warning  as  example,  and  tending  to  lead  our  female 
youth  to  the  sacred  volume,  not  only  as  their  guide  to  duty, 
their  support  in  toil,  their  comfort  in  affliction,  but  as  a  true 
and  perfect  mirror  of  themselves. 

To  desert  the  Bible  for  its  commentators  ;  never  to  peruse  its 
pages  without  notes  of  explanation :  to  regard  it  as  a  work 
which  of  itself  is  incomprehensible,  is,  indeed,  a  practice  as  hurtfa^ 
as  injudicious.  Sent  as  a  message  of  love  to  our  own  souls, 
as  written  and  addressed,  not  to  nations  alone,  but  as  the  voice 
of  God  to  individuals — whispering  to  each  of  us  that  which  we 
most  need  ;  thus  it  is  we  should  first  regard  and  venerate  it 
This  accomplished,  works  tending  to  elucidate  its  gloiious  and 
consoling  truths,  to  make  manifest  its  simple  lessons  of  character, 
as  well  as  precept;  to  bring  yet  closer  to  the  youthful  and 
aspiring  heart,  the  poetry,  the  beauty,  the  eloquence,  the 
appealing  tenderness  of  its  sacred  pages,  may  prove  of  essential 
service.  In  this  hope,  to  bring  clearly  before  the  women  of 
Israel  all  that  they  owe  to  the  word  of  God,  all  that  it  may  still 
be  to  them,  the  present  task  is  undertaken. 

VOL.    I.  2 


8  THE     "WOMEN     OF     ISRAEL. 

We  are  far  from  asserting  that  this  has  not  been  attempted, 
and  for  the  larger  portion  of  the  sex,  accomplished  before, 
Religion  is  the  foundation  and  mainspring  of  every  work  which 
has  been  written  for  the  use  and  improvement  of  woman.  Female 
biographers  of  scripture  have,  we  believe,  often  appeared  ;  though 
the  characters  of  the  Old  Testament  are  so  briefly  and  imperfectly 
sketched,  compared  to  those  of  the  New,  that  but  little  pleasure 
or  improvement  could  be  derived  from  their  perusal.  Yet  still, 
with  the  writings  of  Sandford,  Ellis,  and  Hamilton  before  us, 
each  exhibiting  its  authoress  so  earnest,  so  eloquent  in  her  cause, 
with  "  woman's  mission"  marked  so  simply,  yet  so  forcibly,  in 
the  little  volume  of  that  name,  has  not  woman  of  every  race,  and 
every  creed,  all  sufiBcient  to  teach  her  her  duty  and  herself? 

We  would  say  she  had ;  yet  for  the  women  of  Israel  some- 
thing still  more  is  needed.  The  authors  above  mentioned  are 
Christians  themselves,  and  write  for  the  Christian  world.  Edu- 
cation and  nationality  compel  them  to  believe  that  "  Christianity 
is  the  sole  source  of  female  excellence."  To  Christianity  alone 
they  owe  their  present  station  in  the  world  :  their  influence, 
their  equality  with  man,  their  spiritual  provision  in  this  life, 
and  hopes  of  immortality  in  the  next.  Nay  more,  that  the 
(value  and  dignity  of  woman's  character  would  never  have  been 
known,  but  for  the  religion  of  Jesus  ;  that  pure,  loving,  self-deny- 
ing doctrines,  were  unknown  to  woman  ;  she  knew  not  even  her 
relation  to  the  Eternal ;  dared  not  look  upon  Him  as  her  Father, 
Consoler,  and  Saviour,  till  the  advent  of  Christianity.  We  grant 
that  the  Gentiles  knew  it  not,  till  the  Bible  became  more 
generally  known,  till  the  Eternal,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  permitted 
a  partial  knowledge  of  Himself  to  spread  over  the  world — alike 
to  prepare  the  Gentile  for  that  day,  when  we  shall  all  know 
Him  as  He  is,  and  to  render  the  trial  of  His  people's  faith  and 
constancy  yet  more  terribly  severe.  We  feel  neither  anger  nor 
.uncharitableness  towards  those  who  would  thus  deny  to  Israel 
those  very  privileges  which  were  ours,  ages  before  they  became 
theirs  ;  and  which,  in  fact,  have  descended  from  us  to  them. 
Yet  we  cannot  pass  such  assertion  unanswered,  lest  from  the 
very  worth  and  popularity  of  those  works  in  which  it  is  promul- 
gated, the  young  and  thoughtless  daughter  of  Israel  may 
believe  it  really  has  foundation,  and  look  no  further  than  the 
page  she  reads. 

How  or  whence  originated  the  charge  that  the  law  of  Moses 


INTRODUCTION,  9 

sank  the  Hebrew  female  to  the  lowest  state  of  degradation, 
placed  her  on  a  level  with  slaves  or  heathens,  and  denied  her  all 
mental  and  spiritual  enjoyment,  we  know  not :  yet  certain  it  is 
that  this  most  extraordinary  and  unfounded  idea  obtains  credence 
even  in  this  enlightened  age.  The  word  of  God  at  once  proves 
its  falsity ;  for  it  is  impossible  to  read  the  Mosaic  law  without 
the  true  and  touching  conviction,  that  the  female  Hebrew  was 
even  more  an  object  of  the  tender  and  soothing  care  of  the 
Eternal  than  the  male.  The  thanksgiving  in  the  Israelite 
morning  prayer,  on  which  so  much  stress  is  laid,  as  a  proof  how 
httle  woman  is  regarded,  is  but  a  false  and  foolish  reasoning  on 
the  subject ;  almost,  in  truth,  too  trivial  for  regard. 

The  very  first  consequence  of  woman's  sin  was  to  render  her 
in  physical  and  mental  strength,  inferior  to  man  ;  to  expose  her 
to  suffering  more  continued,  and  more  acute;  to  prevent  her 
obtaining  those  honors  and  emoluments  of  which  man  thinks  so 
much ;  to  restrain  her  path  to  a  more  lowly  and  domestic, 
though  not  a  less  hallowed  sphere ;  and,  all  this  considered, 
neither  scorn  towards  the  sex,  nor  too  much  haughtiness  for 
themselves,  actuate  the  thanksgiving  which  by  our  opponents  is 
brought  forward  against  us.'  It  was  but  one  of  those  blessings 
in  which  the  pious  Israelite  thanks  God  for  all  things,  demand- 
ing neither  notice  nor  reproof 

To  the  Gentile  assertion  that  the  Talmud  has  originated  the 
above-mentioned  blessing,  and  commanded  or  inculcated  the 
moral  and  mental  degradation  of  woman,  we  reply  that  even  if 
it  do,  which  we  do  not  believe  it  does,  its  commands  are  wholly 
disregarded,  and  its  abolishment  is  not  needed  to  raise  the 
Hebrew  female  to  that  station  assigned  her  in  the  word  of  God, 
and  which  through  many  centuries  she  has  been  permitted, 
without  reproof  or  question,  to  enjoy.  The  Eternal's  provision 
for  her  temporal  and  spiritual  happiness  is  proved  in  His 
unalterable  word  ;  and  therefore  no  Hebrew  can  believe  that  He 
would  issue  another  law  for  her  degradation  and  abasement.  If, 
indeed,  there  are  such  laws,  they  must  have  been  compiled  at 
a  time  when  persecution  had  so  brutalized  and  lowered  the 
intellect  of  man  that  he  partook  the  savage  barbarity  of  the 
nations  around  him,  and  of  the  age  in  which  he  lived ;  when 
the  law  of  his  God  had,  as  a  natural  consequence,  become 
obscured,  and  the  Hebrew  female  shared  the  same  rude  and 
savage  treatment  which  was  the  lot  of  all  the  lower  classes  of 


10  THE     WOMEN      OF     ISRAEL. 

women  in  the  feudal  ages.  The  protection,  the  glory,  the 
civilizing  influence  of  chivalry  extended,  in  its  first  establish- 
ment, but  to  the  baronial  classes.  We  see  no  proofs  of  the 
humanizing  and  elevating  influence  of  Christianity,  either  on 
man  or  woman,  till  the  reformation  opened  the  Bible,  the  whole 
Bible,  to  the  nations  at  large  ;  when  civilization  gradually 
followed.  If,  then,  the  situation  of  even  Christian  women  was 
so  uncertain,  and  but  too  often  so  degraded,  for  nearly  fourteen 
centuries  after  the  advent  of  Jesus,  who  his  followers  declare  was 
the  first  to  teach  them  their  real  position — -was  it  very  remark- 
able that  the  vilified  and  persecuted  Hebrew  should  ha>e  in  a 
degree  forgotten  his  nationality,  his  immortal  and  glorious 
heritage,  and  shared  in  the  barbarity  around  him  ?  Granting 
for  the  moment  that  such  was  the  case  (but  we  by  no  means 
believe  it  was),  if  the  degradation,  mentally  and  morally,  of  the 
Hebrew  female,  ever  did  become  part  of  the  Jewish  law,  it  was 
when  man  was  equally  degraded,  and  the  blessed  word  of  God 
hid  from  him. 

The  situation  of  many  of  the  Hebrews  at  the  present  day 
proves  this.  In  but  too  many  parts  of  the  world  the  Israelites 
are  still  the  subjects  of  scorn,  hatred,  and  persecution  :  and 
their  condition  is,  in  consequence,  the  lowest  and  most  awfully 
degraded  in  the  scale  of  man.  But  it  is  not  to  woman  that 
degradation  and  slavery  are  confined  ;  as,  were  it  a  portion 
of  the  law  of  Moses,  would  inevitably  be  the  case.  It  is  the 
consequence  of  cruelty,  of  abasement  in  social  treatment ;  yet)i 
even  here,  when  mind,  principle,  honor,  all  seem  overthrown 
from  such  brutalizing  influence,  the  affections  retain  their  power. 

Whatever  of  spiritual  hope,  of  human  privileges,  the  word  of 
God  bestows  on  man,  and  to  which  the  mind,  darkened  and 
despairing  from  the  horrors  of  persecution,  may  yet  be  open, 
are  shared  by  the  Hebrew  wife,  and  imparted  by  the  Hebrew 
mother. 

Were  it  a  portion  of  the  law  of  Moses  to  enslave  and  degrade 
us,  how  is  it  that  we  do  not  see  this  law  adhered  to  and  obeyed, 
as  well  as  others  claiming  the  same  divine  origin  ?  Neither 
Christianity  nor  civilization  would  alter  or  improve  our  condition, 
were  it  indeed  such  as  it  has  been  represented.  The  Hebrew 
ever  loves,  protects,  and  reverences  his  female  relative ;  and  if, 
indeed,  he  do  not — if  he  deny  her  all  share  in  immortality,  and, 
in  consequence,  thinks  she  has  no  need  of  religion  now,  nor  hope 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

hereafter,  it  is  because  the  remnants  of  barbarism,  ignorance, 
and  superstition  remain,  to  have  blinded  both  his  spiritual  and 
mental  e3'e  ;  yet  whatever  he  may  be  accused  of  believing,  his 
acts  deny  the  belief.  Why  is  he  so  anxious  that  his  wife  and 
daughters  should  adhere  to  every  law,  attend  to  every  precept 
which  he  believes  the  law  of  God  ?  If  they  have  no  soul,  no 
portion  in  the  world  to  come,  it  surely  cannot  signify  how  they 
act,  or  what  they  believe  in  this  ?  Why  are  they  blotted  from 
the  minds  and  hearts  of  their  relatives,  if,  as  it  may  sometimes 
happen,  they  intermarry  with  the  stranger  ?  If  they  have  no 
spiritual  responsibility,  no  claim,  no  part  in  the  law  of  God,  why 
should  they  be  blamed'and  shunned,  if  they  desert  it  for  another  ? 
But  it  is  idle  to  follow  the  argument  further.  The  charge  is 
either  altogether  false,  or  based  on  such  contradictory  and 
groundless  report,  as  to  render  it  of  little  consequence,  save  as  it 
affects  us  in  the  eyes  of  those  who  uphold,  that  till  Christianity 
was  promulgated  woman  knew  not  her  own  station  either 
towards  God  or  man. 

Simply  to  deny  this«issertion,  to  affirm,  that  instead  of  degrad- 
ing and  enslaving,  the  Jewish  law  exalted,  protected,  and  pro- 
vided for  woman,  teaching  her  to  look  up  to  God,  not  as  a  severe 
master  and  awful  judge,  but  as  her  Father,  her  Defender,  her 
Dehverer  when  oppressed,  her  Witness  in  times  of  false  accusa- 
tion, her  Consoler  and  Protector  when  fatherless,  widowed — aye, 
as  the  tender  and  loving  Sovereign,  who  spared  the  young  bride 
the  anguish  of  separation  from  her  beloved  :  merely  to  affirm, 
that  with  such  laws  woman  was  equally  a  subject  of  divine  love 
as  she  is  now,  would  not  avail  us  much.  The  women  of  Israel 
must  themselves  arise,  and  prove  the  truth  of  what  we  urge — 
by  their  own  conduct,  their  own  behef,  their  own  ever-acting 
and  ever-influencing  religion,  prove  without  doubt  or  question 
that  we  need  not  Christianity  to  teach  us  our  mission — prove 
that  our  duties,  our  privileges,  were  assigned  us  from  the  very 
beginning  of  the  world,  confirmed  by  that  law  to  which  we  still 
adhere,  and  will  adhere  for  ever,  and  manifested  by  the  whole 
history  of  the  Bible. 

A  new  era  is  dawning  for  us.  Persecution  and  intolerance 
have  in  so  many  lands  ceased  to  predominate,  that  Israel  may 
once  more  breathe  in  freedom ;  the  law  need  no  longer  be 
preached  in  darkness,  and  obeyed  in  secret ;  the  voice  of  man 
need  no  longer  be  the  vehicle  of  instruction  from  father  to  son, 


12  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

mingling  with  it  unconsciously  human  opinions,  till  those  opi- 
nions could  scarcely  be  severed  from  the  word  of  God,  and  by 
degrees  so  dimmed  its  lustre,  as  to  render  its  comprehension  an 
obscure  and  painful  task.  This  need  no  longer  be.  The  Bible 
may  be  perused  in  freedom  ;  the  law  may  be  publicly  explained 
and  preached  to  all  who  will  attend.  A  spirit  of  inquiry,  of 
patriotism,  of  earnestness  in  seeking  to  know  the  Lord,  and  obey 
Him  according  to  His  word,  is  springing  up  in  lieu  of  the  stag- 
nating darkness,  the  appalling  indifference,  which  had  reigned 
so  long.  Persecution  never  decreased  our  numbers.  As  the 
bush  which  burned  without  consuming,  so  was  Israel  in  those 
blood-red  ages  of  intolerance  and  butchery.  In  the  very  heart 
of  the  most  catholic  kingdom — amongst  her  senate,  her  warriors, 
her  artisans — aye,  even  her  monks  and  clergy — Judaism  lurked 
unconsumed  by  the  fires  ever  burning  round.  The  spirit  was 
ever  awake  and  active,  ready  to  endure  martyrdom,  but  not  to 
forswear  that  God  whose  witnesses  they  were.  Persecution  was 
a  crisis  in  our  History ;  prosperity  the  reaction  ;  and  from  that 
reaction  the  natural  consequence  was  the  gradual  rise,  growth, 
and  influence  of  indifference.  Indifference,  however,  has  but  its 
appointed  time  :  and  Israel  is  springing  up  once  more  the 
stronger,  nobler,  more  spiritually  enlightened,  from  his  long  and 
waveless  sleep.  Free  to  assert  their  right  as  immortal  children 
of  the  living  God,  let  not  the  women  of  Israel  be  backward  in 
proving  they,  too,  have  a  Rock  of  Strength,  a  Refuge  of  Love ; 
that  they,  too,  have  a  station  to  uphold,  and  a "  mission "  to 
perform,  not  alone  as  daughters,  wives,  and  mothers,  but  as 
witnesses  of  that  faith  which  first  raised,  cherished,  and  defended 
them — witnesses  of  that  God  who  has  called  them  His,  and  who 
has  so  repeatedly  sanctified  the  emotions  peculiar  to  their  sex,  by 
graciously  comparing  the  love  he  bears  us,  as  yet  deeper  than  a 
mother's  for  her  child,  a  wife's  for  her  husband,  having  compas- 
sion for  his  people,  as  on  a  "  woman  forsaken  and  grieved  in 
spirit."  "  Can  a  woman  forget  her  sucking  child,  that  she 
should  not  have  compassion  on  the  son  of  her  travail;  yea, 
she  may  forget,  yet  will  I  not  forget  thee."  "As  a  mother 
comforteth  her  children,  so  will  I  comfort  thee." 

Wei'e  not  these  relations  holy  and  sanctified  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord,  would  He  use  them  as  figurative  of  His  long  suffering  love  ? 
Many  terms,  similar  to  those  above  quoted,  prove,  without  a 
shadow  of  doubt,  the  tender  compassion  with  which  He  regarded 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

woman  long  before  He  used  such  terms  to  figure  His  compjis- 
sionatirig  love  towards  Israel,  when  sinfulness  called  forth  His 
long  averted  wrath. 

Let  us  then  endeavor  to  convince  the  nations  of  the  high  pri- 
vileges we  enjoy,  in  common  with  our  fathers,  brothers,  and 
husbands,  as  the  first-born  of  the  Lord,  by  the  peculiar  sanctity, 
spirituality,  and  inexpressible  consolation  of  ou.  belief.  Let  us 
not,  as  women  of  Israel,  be  content  with  the  mere  performance 
of  domestic,  social,  and  individual  duties,  but  vivify  and  lighten 
them  by  the  rays  of  eternal  love  and  immortal  hope,  which 
beam  upon  us  from  the  pages  of  the  Bible.  A  religion  of  love 
is  indeed  necessary  to  woman,  yet  more  so  than  to  man.  Even 
in  her  happiest  lot  there  must  be  a  void  in  her  heart,  which  ever- 
acting  piety  alone  can  till ;  and  to  her  whose  portion  is  to  suflfer, 
whose  lot  is  lonely,  O  what  misery  must  be  hers,  unless  she  can 
lean  upon  her  God,  and  draw  from  His  word  the  blessed  convic- 
tion that  His  love.  His  tenderness,  are  hers,  far  beyond  the  feeble 
conception  of  earth  ;  and  that  whatever  she  may  endure,  however 
unknown  to  or  scorned  by  man,  it  is  known  to  Him  who  smites 
but  in  love,  and  has  mercy  even  while  He  smites. 

To  realize  this  blessed  conviction,  the  Bible  must  become 
indeed  the  book  of  life  to  the  female  descendants  of  that  nation 
whose  earliest  history  it  so  vividly  records  ;  and  be  regarded,  not 
as  a  merely  political  or  religious  history,  but  as  the  voice  of  God 
speaking  to  each  individual,  giving  strength  to  the  weak,  en- 
couragement to  the  desponding,  endurance  to  the  patient,  justice 
to  the  wronged,  and  consolation  unspeakable  as  unmeasurable 
to  the  afflicted  and  the  mourner.  Do  we  need  love  ?  We  shall 
find  innumerable  verses  telling  us,  that  the  Lord  Himself  pro- 
claimed His  attribute  as  "  merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffering, 
abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for  thousands, 
forgiving  iniquity  and  sin  ;"  that  "  as  far  as  the  Heaven  is  above 
the  earth  so  great  is  His  mercy,  extending  from  everlasting  to 
everlasting."  We  have  but  to  read  those  appeals  of  the  Eternal 
to  Israel,  alike  in  Jeremiah  and  Isaiah,  and  many  of  the  minor 
prophets — and  if  our  hearts  be  not  stone,  they  must  melt  before 
such  compassionating  love,  such  appealing  tenderness,  and  feel 
we  cannot  be  lonely,  cannot  be  unloved,  while  such  deep  change- 
less love  is  ours.  Do  we  need  sympathy  ?  Shall  we  not  find  it 
in  words  similar  to  these,  "  In  all  their  afSictions  He  was  afflicted, 
and  the  angel  of  His  presence  saved  them  ?    In  His  love  and  in 


14  THE      WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

His  pity  He  redeemed  them,  and  He  bare  them,  and  carried 
them  all  the  days  of  old."  Do  we  need  patience  and  strength  ? 
Shall  we  not  exercise  it,  when  we  have  the  precious  promise, 
"  Wait  on  the  Lord,  be  of  good  courage,  and  H^  shall  strengthen 
thine  heart  ?"  Shall  we  droop  and  grieve  beneath  the  wrongs 
and  fiilse  judgments  of  short-sighted  man,  when  we  are  told  the 
ways  of  God  are  not  those  of  man — that  He  knoweth  our  frame, 
and  readeth  our  thoughts — that  not  a  bodily  or  mental  pang  is 
ours  which  He  does  not  know  and  compassionate — aye,  and  in 
His  own  good  time  will  heal ! 

To  throw  together  all  those  verses  which  confirm  and  prove 
the  loving-tenderness  borne  towards  us  by  the  Eternal,  v/ou.'d  be 
an  endless  and  a  useless  task.  We  can  but  point  to  that  ever- 
flowing  fount  of  healing  waters,  and  assure  those  who  have  once 
really  tasted,  and  will  persevere  in  the  heavenly  draught,  that  it 
will  never  fail  them,  never  change  its  properties,  but  each  year 
sink  deeper  and  deeper  into  their  souls,  till  at  length  it  becomes 
indeed  all  they  need ;  and  they  themselves  will  cling  to  it, 
despite  of  occasional  doubt  and  darkness,  inseparable  from  our 
souls  while  denizens  of  earth. 

Nor  is  it  only  the  verses  containing  such  gracious  promises, 
which  will  yield  us  comfort  and  assistance.  We  may  glean  the 
glad  tidings  of  Eternal  Love  from  the  biographies  and  narratives 
with  which  the  sacred  book  abounds — there  may  be  some  meek 
and  lowly  spirits  amongst  the  female  youth  of  Israel,  who  would 
gladly  clasp  the  strength  and  guidance  which  we  proffer  them 
fi  )m  the  Bible,  could  they  believe  that  God,  the  great,  the 
almighty,  the  tremendous  and  awful  Being  (as  which  they  have 
perhaps  been  accustomed  to  regard  Him),  can  have  love  and 
pity  for  themselves,  or  give  comfort  and  aid  to  trials,  which 
appear  even  too  trivial  to  ask,  or  to  excite  the  sympathy  of  man. 
We  would  lead  them  to  look  earnestly  and  believingly  into  the 
history  of  every  woman  in  the  Bible,  and  trace  there  the  influence 
of  God's  holy  and  compassionating  love.  We  are  not  indeed 
placed  as  the  women  of  Israel  before  their  dispersion,  or  as  the 
wives  of  the  patriarchs  before  the  law  was  given ;  yet  their  God 
is  our  God.  It  was  not  to  a  race  so  perfect,  so  gifted,  so  hallowed, 
as  to  be  free  from  all  the  present  faults  and  failings  of  the  sex 
that  the  Lord  vouchsafed  His  love.  No,  it  was  to  woman,  even 
as  she  is  now.  The  women  of  the  Bible  are  but  mirrors  of  our- 
selves.    And  if  the  Eternal,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  extended  love, ' 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

compassion,  forbearance,  and  forgiveness  unto  them,  we  mav 
believe  He  extends  them  equally  unto  us,  and  draw  comfort,  and 
encouragement,  and  faith  from  the  biographies  we  read. 

In  a  work  entitled  "  The  Women  of  Israel,"  some  apology, 
perhaps,  is  necessary  for  commencing  with  the  wives  of  the 
patriarchs,  who  may  not  lay  claim  to  such  holy  appellation.  Yet, 
as  the  chosen  and  beloved  [tartners  of  those  favored  of  God,  from 
whom  Israel  traces  his  descent,  and  for  the  sake  of  whose  faith 
and  righteousness  we  were  selected  and  chosen  as  a  peculiar 
people,  and  the  law  given  to  be  our  guide  through  earth  to 
heaven,  we  cannot  consider  our  history  complete  without  them ; 
more  particularly  as  their  lives  are  so  intimately  blended  with 
their  husbands  ;  and  that  in  them,  even  yet  more  vividly  than 
at  a  later  period,  we  may  trace  the  Lord's  dealings  with  His 
female  children,  and  derive  from  them  alike  warning  and  support. 

Eve,  indeed,  may  not  have  such  national  claim,  but  if  we 
believe  that  her  history,  as  every  other  part  of  Genesis,  was 
penned  by  the  same  inspired  law-giver — that  Moses  recorded 
only  that  which  had  been — we  shall  find  much,  indeed,  to  repay 
us  for  lingering  a  while  on  her  character  and  life.  To  the 
scepticism,  the  cavils,  the  doubts,  and  (but  too  often  unhappily) 
the  direct  unbehef  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  the  first  disobedience 
of  man,  we  give  no  heed  whatever.  We  must  either  believe  in 
the  Pentateuch  or  deny  it.  There  can  be  no  intermediate  path. 
The  whole  must  be  true  or  none.  It  is  not  because  much  may 
appear  obscure,  or  even  contradictory  in  the  sacred  narrative, 
that  we  are  to  pronounce  it  false,  or  mystify  and  poetize  it  as  an 
allegory. 

We  are  simply  to  believe,  and  endeavor  to  act  on  that  belief. 
So  much  is  there  ever  passing  around  us  that  we  cannot  solve ; 
our  thoughts,  in  their  furthest  flight,  are  so  soon  checked,  can 
penetrate  so  little  into  the  wonders  of  man  and  nature,  that  it 
appears  extraordinary  how  man  can  doubt  and  deny,  because  he 
cannot  understand.  In  this  case,  however — the  history  of  Eve 
— truth  is  so  simple  and  clear,  that  we  know  not  how  it  can 
supply  such  an  endless  fund  of  argument  and  doubt.  To  remove 
this  groundless  disbelief,  to  endeavor  to  render  the  narrative 
clear  and  simple  to  the  female  youth  of  Israel,  and,  even  through 
Eve's  sad  yet  consoling  history,  to  prove  to  them  the  deep  love 
borne  towards  us  from  the  very  first  of  our  creation  by  our 
gracious  God,  must  be  our  apology,  if  apology  be  needed,  for 

2* 


16  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

commencing  a  work  entitled  "  The  "Women  of  Israel,"  with  our 
general  mother. 

Beginning,  then,  from  the  very  beginning,  some  degree  of 
order  is  requisite  in  the  arrangement  of  our  subject.  Our  aim 
being  to  evince  to  the  nations  and  to  our  own  hearts,  the 
privileges,  alike  temporal  and  eternal,  which  were  ours  from  the 
very  commencement — to  prove  that  we  have  no  need  of  Christi- 
anity, or  the  examples  of  the  females  in  the  Gospel,  to  raise  us 
to  an  equality  with  man — to  demonstrate  our  duties  and  secure 
us  consolation  here  or  salvation  hereafter — the  word  of  God 
must  be  alike  our  ground-work  and  our  guide.  From  the  past 
history  which  that  unerring  guide  presents,  our  present  duties 
and  responsibilities,  and  our  future  destiny,  will  alike  be  revealed. 
In  a  simple  biography  each  life  is  a  sufficient  division ;  but, 
with  the  exception  of  the  wives  of  the  patriarchs  and  one  or  two 
more,  we  have  scarcely  sufficient  notice  of  individuals  to  illus- 
trate our  design  by  regarding  them  separately.  There  appear, 
therefore,  seven  periods  in  the  history  of  the  women  of  Israel, 
which  demand  our  attention. 

First  Period — the  Wives  of  the  Patriarchs,  including  Eve, 
Sarah,  Rebecca,  Leah,  and  Rachel. 

Second  Period — the  Exodus,  and  the  Law  considered  as 
affecting  the  condition  and  estabhshing  the  privileges  of  women. 

Third  Period — Women  of  Israel  between  the  establishment 
of  the  Law  and  the  authority  of  the  Kings,  comprising  sketches 
of  Miriam,  Deborah,  the  wife  of  Manoah,  Naomi,  and  Hannah. 

Fourth  Period — Women  of  Israel  during  the  continuation  of 
the  Kingdom,  comprising,  amongst  other  sketches,  Michal,  Abi- 
gail, the  Shunammite,  and  Huldah. 

Fifth  Period — Babylonish  Captivity,  including  the  life  of 
Esther. 

Sixth  Period — the  War  and  Dispersion,  and  their  effects  on 
the  condition  and  privileges  of  women  in  Israel. 

Seventh  Period — Women  of  Israel  in  the  Present  time,  as 
influenced  by  the  history  of  the  Past. 

For  five  of  these  periods,  then,  we  perceive  the  word  of  God 
can  be  our  only  guide,  and  this  at  once  marks  our  history  as 
sacred,  not  profane.  If,  therefore,  there  should  be  parts  which 
resemble  more  a  religious  essay  than  female  biography,  we 
reply,  that  to  inculcate  religion,  the  vital  spirit  of  religion,  is  the 
sole  intention  of  these  pages. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

"We  wish  to  infuse  the  spirit  of  truth  and  patriotism,  of 
nationality,  and  yet  of  universal  love,  in  the  hearts  of  the  young 
daughters  of  Israel ;  and  we  know  of  no  means  more  likely, 
under  the  divine  blessing,  to  accomplish  this,  than  to  bring 
before  them,  as  vividly  and  engagingly  as  we  can,  the  never- 
ending  love,  the  compassionating  tenderness,  the  unchanging 
sympathy,  alike  in  our  joys  and  in  our  sorrows,  manifested  by 
the  Eternal  so  touchingly  and  simply  in  the  history  of  our 
female  ancestors, — to  lead  them  to  know  Him  and  love  Him, 
not  only  through  the  repeated  promises,  but  through  the  narra- 
tives of  His  word,  and  to  glory  in  those  high  privileges  which 
as  children,  retainers  and  promulgators  of  His  holy  law,  are 
ours,  over  and  above  every  other  nation,  past  or  present,  in 
the  history  of  the  world  ! 


FIRST     PERIOD. 

THE  WIYES  OF  THE  PATRIAKCHS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

EVE. 


The  last  and  mightiest  work  of  creation  was  completed.  Man, 
in  bis  angelic  and  immortal  beauty,  stood  erect  and  perfect, 
fresh  from  the  hand  of  his  Creator ;  lord  and  possessor  of  the 
new  formed  world.  Though  formed  of  the  dust,  earth  had  not, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  inferior  animals,  brought  him  forth.  Des- 
tined from  the  first  to  be  made  in  the  image  of  God,  that  is,  to 
possess  an  emanation  of  the  spiritual  essence,  and  so  become  a 
living  and  immortal  soul — the  shrine  of  so  glorious  a  possession 
was  created  by  God  himself.  "  Aod  God  created  him,"  He  did 
not  "  call  him  forth." 

For  man,  the  beautiful  creation  already  wrought,  was  not  suffi- 
cient;  and  "He  planted  a  garden  eastward  in  Eden,  filling  it 
with  ecery  tree  that  was  pleasant  for  the  sight,  and  good  for 
food  " — animate  and  inanimate  creation  brought  together  by  the 
Eternal  in  one  beautiful  and  perfect  whole.  Nor  was  this  all : 
endowed  with  capabilities  of  love,  happiness,  and  wisdom,  as 
much  above  the  other  animals  as  the  angelic  nature  is  to  man, 
still  he  needed  more  for  the  perfection  of  his  felicity ;  and  God 
in  his  infinite  mercy  provided  for  that  want. 

"  It  is  not  good  for  man  to  be  alone,"  the  Eternal  said ;  "  I 
will  make  him  a  help  meet  for  him."  And  therefore  woman 
was  created,  and  brought  unto  man,  who  received  her  as  the 
Eternal  in  His  mercy  had  ordained,  a  being  beloved  above  all 


20  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

others,  ^\  hose  gentler  qualities  and  endearing  sympathy  should 
soften  his  rougher  and  prouder  nature,  and  "  help  "  him  in  all 
things  "  meet"  for  an  immortal  being. 

The  whole  creation  had  had  its  origin  in  that  Omnific  Love 
which  CREATED  TO  ENJOY, — Called  out  of  darkness  and  chaos  a 
world  teeming  with  life  and  beauty,  that  innumerablt?  sources  of 
happiness  might  spring  forth  from  what  had  before  been  naught ; 
but  woman's  creation  was  a  still  greater  manifestation  of  love 
than  all  which  had  gone  before  it.  She  was  created,  not  only 
to  feel  happiness  herself,  but  to  make  it  for  others  ;  and  if  that 
was  the  design  of  her  existence  in  Eden,  how  deeply  should  we 
feel  the  solemn  truth,  that  it  is  equally  so  now,  and  that  woman 
has  a  higher  and  holier  mission  than  the  mere  pursuit  of 
pleasure  and  individual  enjoyment ;  that  to  flutter  through  life 
without  one  serious  thought  or  aim,  without  a  dream  beyond 
the  present  moment,  without  a  feeling  higher  than  temporal 
gratification,  or  an  aspiration  rising  beyond  this  world,  can  never 
answer  the  purpose  of  her  divine  creation,  or  make  her  a  help 
meet  for  man.  Nor  is  it  to  wives  only  this  privilege  is  accorded. 
Mother  or  sister,  each  has  equally  her  appointed  duty — to 
endeavor  so  to  help  and  influence  man,  that  her  more  spiritual 
and  unselfish  nature  shall  gradually  be  infused  into  him,  and, 
raising  him  above  mere  worldly  thought  and  sensual  pleasures, 
compel  him  to  feel  that  it  is  not  indeed  "  good  for  man  to  be 
alone,"  but  that  woman  may  still  fulfil  the  office  of  help  and 
love  for  which  alone  she  was  created. 

Although  the  Mosaic  record  of  man's  residence  in  Paradise  is 
mournfully  brief,  we  have  sufficient  scriptural  authority  fjr  hn- 
gering  a  little  while  on  Eve's  innocent  career.  Placed  in  a 
garden  with  every  capability  of  felicity  within  herself, — nature, 
meditation,  commune  with  the  Almighty  in  thanksgiving,  or 
with  Him  direct,  through  the  Voice  which  revealed  the  invisible 
presence,  the  sweet  blessed  intercourse  of  kindred  spirits,  spring- 
ing from  the  love  she  bore  to  and  received  from  her  husband, — ■ 
simple  and  imperfect  as  such  sources  of  enjoyment  may  appear, 
they  were  more  exquisite,  more  perfect,  than  we  can  dream  of 
now. 

The  spirit  which  God  had  breathed  within  man  when  he 
became  a  living  soul,  was  the  likeness  or  image  of  God  in  which 
"  made  He  man ;"  and  this  spirit,  or  essence,  enabled  both 
Adam  and  Eve  to  commune  in  close  and  beatified  intercourse 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  21 

with  the  glorified  Creator  whence  that  essence  sprang.  No  sin 
could  fling  its  dark  shade  between  the  soul  and  his  God ;  and 
so  deaden  spiritual  joy.  Naught  of  doubt  could  stagnate  the 
love  which  must  have  been  excited  in  their  hearts  towards  their 
Father  and  their  God.  All  around  and  within  them  bore  such 
impress  of  His  hand,  as  to  excite  naught  but  gratitude  and 
devotion.  If  even  now,  when  once  we  have  realized  the  love  of 
God  and  submission  to  His  will — when  once  we  can  so  put  our 
trust  in  Him  as  to  give  Him  ''  all  our  heart,"  and  come  to  Him 
in  sorrow  and  in  joy,  convinced  that  He  knows  and  loves  us 
better  than  ourselves — we  experience  a  peace,  a  blessedness  no 
earthly  tempests  can  remove ;  how  thrice  blessed  must  have 
been  the  felicity  of  Eve  ! 

Apart  from  the  spirit  which  the  Eternal  gave  to  lead  man  to 
Himself,  was  the  mind  which  opened  to  the  creatures  formed  in 
His  image  the  inexhaustible  resources  of  wisdom,  imagination, 
knowledge — all  that  could  create  that  higher  kind  of  happiness, 
which  is  synonymous  with  mental  joy.  Sources  of  what  is  now 
termed  wisdom,  that  of  books  and  man,  were  indeed  unknown 
to  our  first  parents ;  nor  did  they  need  them.  In  the  wonders 
of  creation,  the  tree,  the  herb,  the  flower,  the  gushing  rivers, 
the  breezy  winds  ;  nay,  from  the  mighty  form  of  the  largest 
beast,  to  the  structure  of  the  tiniest  leaf;  the  flow  of  the  river  to 
the  globule  of  the  dew,  which  watered  the  face  of  the  whole 
ear^'h,  there  was  enough  to  excite  and  satisfy  their  mental  powers ; 
enough  to  excite  emotions  alike  of  wonder  and  adoration. 
Their  commune  with  the  angelic  messengers  of  their  benevolent 
Creator,  their  tidings  of  Heaven  and  its  hosts,  must  have  excited 
the  highest  and  purest  pleasure  of  imagination,  and  so  diversified 
and  lightened  the  mental  exercises  of  wisdom,  which  the  palpable 
and  visible  objects  of  creation  so  continually  call  forth. 

Nor  was  spiritual  and  mental  felicity  the  only  portion  of  Eve 
— the  affections,  the  impulses  of  the  heart,  fresh  from  the 
creating  Hand  of  Love,  had  full  play — created,  as  the  perfecting 
finish  to  man's  happiness,  beholding  him,  the  lord  of  all  on  which 
she  gazed — earth  formed  to  yield  him  her  fruits — water  and  air, 
to  unite  for  his  refreshment — every  animal  obeying  his  authority 
— instinctively  feeling,  too,  the  mighty  power  of  his  intellect, 
the  strength  of  his  mind  and  frame,  the  deepest  reverence  must 
have  mingled  with,  and  so  perfected,  her  love.  Nor  would  this 
acknowledgment    tend  to  degrade    woman   in   the  scale  of 


22  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

creation.  Formed,  like  man,  in  the  immortal  likeness  of  the  Lord 
he  was  his  equal  in  his  responsibilities  towards  God  and  in  the  care 
of  his  creatures  ;  endowed  equally  with  man,  but  differently  as 
to  the  nature  of  those  endowments.  His  mission  was  to  protect 
and  guide  and  have  dominion — hers  to  soothe,  bless,  persuade 
to  right,  and  "  help"  in  all  things  "  meet"  for  immortal  beings. 

The  existence  of  Eve,  then,  in  her  innocence,  was,  in  a  word, 
an  existence  of  love — love  towards  God  and  nature  and  man, 
which  none  of  the  infirmities  of  our  present  state  could  cloud  or 
interrupt.  Do  we  err,  then,  in  saying  that,  even  in  the  brief  record 
of  Scripture,  we  have  sufficient  authority  for  delineating  the  felicity 
of  our  first  parents  in  Eden  ?  And  will  it  not  demonstrate 
appealingly  to  us,  those  pleasures  which  God  Himself  ordained, 
and  which,  even  now,  might  so  be  cultivated  as  to  bring  us 
happiness,  as  infinitely  superior  to  the  amusements  so  called  as 
innocence  is  to  sin  ? 

But  beautiful  as  is  this  picture,  we  must  turn  from  it  to 
consider  feelings  and  events  of  a  sadly  different  nature.  In  the 
most  conspicuous  part  of  Paradise,  the  Eternal  had  called  forth 
two  trees,  differing  in  their  magnificence,  perhaps  in  the  halo 
with  which  they  may  have  been  encircled,  as  peculiar  witnesses 
of  their  Ci'eator,  from  every  other  in  the  garden.  They  were 
the  Tree  of  Life  and  the  Tree  of  Knawledge.  Of  the  first  so 
little  is  known  that  we  are  justified  in  supposing  the  intention  of 
its  existence  was  frustrated  by  the  disobedience  of  man ;  a 
conjecture  founded  on  the  solemn  fact,  that  as  the  Lord  created 
not  one  thing  in  vain,  that  tree  must  also  have  had  its  use  and 
.ntention,  and  from  the  words  which  follow  at  a  later  period, 
"  Lest  man  put  forth  his  hand,  and  take  also  of  the  tree  of  life, 
and  eat  and  live  for  ever,"  we  are  quite  authorized  to  suppose  it 
possessed  some  qualities  yet  mightier  than  the  Tree  of  Knowledge, 
with  which  its  taste  would  have  gifted  man,  had  he  not  by 
rebellion  frustrated  the  beneficent  design  of  his  Creator,  and 
forfeited  the  privileges  which  might  have  been  his  own. 

Of  the  Tree  of  Knowledge,  its  intention  and  its  uses,  we  have 
sufficient  information.  The  Eternal  knew  the  nature  of  the 
creatures  He  had  formed ;  that  it  was  but  an  easy  and  slender 
trial  of  obedience  and  of  love,  if  they  had  no  temptation  to  rebel 
or  disobey.  Though  subject  to  His  sway,  though  deriving 
existence  from  His  hand,  and  enjoying  life  and  all  its  varied 
sources  of  fehcity  from  the  same  infinite  love,  yet  the  Eternal,  in 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  23 

His  wisdom  and  His  justice,  had  endowed  them  with  the  power 
of  free-will ;  of  listening  to  and  following,  or  struggling  with  and 
conquering,  the  seeds  of  corruption,  which  from  their  earthly- 
shell  were  inherent,  though  as  yet  kept  so  completely  under 
iubjectiou  from  the  divine  and  purifying  nature  of  the  soul,  that, 
until  he  was  tried,  man  himself  was  scarcely  sensible  of  their 
existence.  To  have  guarded  him  jealously  from  every  temptation 
— to  have  surrounded  him  with  naught  but  sources  of  pleasure 
and  enjoyment,  and  so  called  forth  only  the  grateful  and  adoring 
faculties  of  the  spirit,  was  not  according  to  that  divine  and 
perfect  economy  of  love  and  justice  which  aharacterized  the 
deAlings  of  the  Creator  with  his  creatures.  It  was  deeper, 
dearer  love,  to  permit  man  to  win  his  immortality,  his  eternal 
innocence,  than  to  bestow  them  upon  him  unsought,  and  therefore 
httle  valued.  They  could  be  guilty  of  no  crime  in  the  world's 
parlance,  so  termed.  They  were  the  sole  possessors  of  the  newly 
created  earth  :  in  daily  commune  with  their  creator,  and  therefore 
in  neither  idolatry,  blasphemy.  Sabbath-breaking,  dishonoring  of 
parents,  murder,  adultery,  theft,  false-witness,  or  covetousness, 
could  they  sin.  God  knew  that  all  the  crimes  which  viicjht 
devastate  the  earth  would  spring  from  one  alone,  disobedience  ; 
and  therefore  was  it  that  His  infinite  wisdom  ordained  that  the 
trial  of  man's  love,  and  faith,  and  virtue,  should  simply  be, 
obedience  to  His  will. 

"  And  the  Lord  God  commanded  the  man,  saying,  of  every 
tree  of  the  garden  thou  mayst  freely  eat ;  but  of  the  tree  of 
the  knowledge  of  the  good  and  evil  thou  shalt  not  eat ;  for  in 
the  day  that  thou  eatest  thereof,  thou  shalt  surely  die." 
Whether  this  threatened  chastisement  was  robed  in  mystery,  or 
that  Adam  had  beheld  death  in  the  inferior  animals  (for  Holy 
Writ  gives  us  no  authority  for  believing  that  even  they  knew 
not  death  till  after  the  fall),  and  so  could  have  some  idea  of 
what  he  would  become,  even  as  a  clod  of  the  earth  if  he  dis- 
obeyed, we  may  not  here  determine  ;  suffice  it,  that  the  Eternal 
was  too  merciful,  too  just,  to  threaten  His  creature  with  a  chas- 
tisement for  disobedience  which  he  could  not  comprehend. 

Beautiful  to  look  upon,  and  exquisite  in  its  fragrance,  we  may 
imagine  the  Tree  of  Knowledge  extending  its  rich  foliage  and 
tempting  fruit  in  the  most  conspicuous  part  of  the  garden,  no 
doubt  frequently  attracting  the  admiration  of  Adam  and  Eve, 
perhaps  exciting  wishes,  which  the  spirit  within  them  had  as 


24  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

yet  power  to  effectually  banish,  or  entirely  subdue.  Alone,  un- 
protected by  the  sterner,  firmer  qualities  of  her  husband,  Eve 
had  walked  forth,  secure  in  her  own  innocence,  in  the  conscious- 
ness of  love  lingering  within,  and  all  around  her  ; — the  young 
animals  gambolling  about  her,  calling  forth  her  caresses  and  her 
smile — the  little  birds  springing  from  tree  to  tree  in  joyous 
greeting,  or  nestling  in  her  bosom  without  one^  touch  of  fear — 
the  gorgeous  flowers,  in  all  their  glowing  robes  and  exquisite 
fragruice,  clustering  richly  around  her — the  very  buds  seeming 
to  look  up  into  her  sweet  loving  fece,  to  reflect  increase  of 
beauty  from  the  gaze,  so  may  our  fancy  picture  her,  as  she 
neared  that  tree  under  whose  fair  branches  so  much  of  misery 
lurked.  Coiled  at  its  root,  or  twisted  in  rainbow-colored  folds 
arc  und  its  trunk,  lay  the  serpent,  "  who  was  more  subtle  than 
any  beast  of  the  field  which  the  Lord  God  had  made."  And 
he  said  unto  the  woman,  "  Yea,  hath  God  said,  Ye  shall  not 
eat  of  every  tree  in  the  garden  ?  And  the  woman  said.  We 
may  eat  of  the  fruit  of  the  trees  of  the  garden,  but  of  the  fruif 
of  the  tree  which  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  God  hath  said, 
Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it,  neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die. 
And  the  serpent  said  unto  the  woman,  Ye  shall  not  surely  die, 
for  God  doth  know,  that  in  the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your 
eyes  shall  be  opened,  and  ye  shall  be  as  gods,  knowing  good 
and  evil.  And  when  the  woman  saw  that  the  tree  was  good 
for  food,  and  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and  a  tree  to  be  de- 
sired to  make  one  wise,  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat ;" 
and  she  gave  also  unto  her  husband  with  her,  and  he  did  eat. 

Such  are  the  brief,  yet  emphatic  words  in  which  the  inspired 
prophet  of  the  Lord  detailed  those  incidents  on  which  the  whole 
after-history  of  the  world  is  founded — the  mournful  detail  of 
that  first  sin,  from  which  every  other  sprang,  disobedience. 
Of  the  various  speculations  and  opinions  concerning  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  serpent  we  shall  take  no  heed,  save  the  humble ' 
endeavor  to  reconcile  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  He  2}ermitk'd  the 
trial,  but  He  commanded  not  the  evil  interposition  of  the  subtlest 
of  His  creatures,  the  serpent,  any  more  than  He  commanded 
the  subtlety  of  Jacob  in  obtaining  his  fjither's  blessing.  Both 
events  were  permitted  to  take  place ;  but  the  evil  means  of 
their  accomplishment  were  not  of  the  Lord,  and  consequently 
their  agents  were  both  subject  to  His  displeasure,  and  con- 
demned to  punishment  and  wrath. 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  25 

In  one  brief  hour,  the  whole  nature  of  Eve  was  changed — 
the  seeds  of  frailty,  of  whose  very  existence  she  had  been 
scarcely  conscious  before,  sprang  up  into  influencing  poison. 
Curiosity,  presumption,  the  overweening  trust  in  her  own 
strength,  the  desire  to  act  alone,  independent  of  all  control — to 
become  greater,  wiser,  higher  than  the  scale  of  being,  than  the 
station  in  which  God  s  love  had  placed  her — discontent — scorn 
of  the  blessings  which  a  moment  before  had  seemed  so  precious, 
simply  because  imagination  portrayed  others  more  alluring — 
attracted  by  novelty,  beauty,  those  idol  shrines  at  which  woman 
so  often  sacrifices  her  better,  her  immortal  self — such  (and 
are  they  not  the  characteristics  of  woman,  even  as  she  is  now  ?) 
— such  were  the  emotions  excited  by  the  wily  tempter,  through 
whose  baneful  influence  she  fell.  Where,  at  that  moment,  was 
the  voice  of  the  spirit,  warning  her  of  the  God  she  disobeyed  ? 
Where  the  whisper  of  the  mind,  telling  her  that  the  sources  of 
wisdom,  of  knowledge,  already  open,  were  the  purest  and  the 
best  ?  Where  the  fond  tones  of  the  heart,  urging  her  to  seek 
the  protection,  the  counsel,  the  support,  of  her  earthly  lord  ? 
Hushed,  drowned,  in  the  wild  tumult  of  new  and  terrible  ex- 
citement of  feelings,  whose  very  novelty  fascinated  and  held  her 
chained.  The  voice  of  the  tempter  was  in  her  ear.  Sight  and 
smell  were  filled  with  the  exquisite  branch,  the  delicious  fra- 
grance ;  and  if  such  were  revealed,  what  must  be  its  taste  and 
touch,  when  to  pluck  and  eat  would  make  her  as  gods,  knowing 
good  and  evil  ?  Weak,  frail,  unguarded,  for  the  still  small  voice 
of  the  soul  was  lost  in  that  hour's  tempest,  was  it  marvel  that 
she  fell  ?  Could  she  have  done  otherwise  ?  The  bulwark  of 
FAITH  was  shivered,  her  heart  was  open  and  defenceless — she 
was  alone,  alone,  for  even  the  guardian  within,  if  not  fled,  was 
silent.  The  God  of  infinite  love  and  compassion  beheld,  but 
approached  not ;  and  wherefore  ?  If  He  permitted,  ordained,  why 
did  He  punish  ?  Oh,  had  the  voice  of  his  creature  called  on 
Him  in  that  terrible  hour  ;  had  but  the  faintest  cry  ascended  for 
help,  for  strength,  for  mercy ;  had  but  the  struggling  murmur 
arisen,  "  Father,  thy  words  are  truth,  let  me  but  believe" 
strength,  help,  faith,  would  have  poured  their  reviving  rays  into 
her  sinking  soul,  and  she  had  been  saved — saved  for  immor- 
tality, saved  to  glorify  her  God !  It  was  not  that  she  had  not 
the  power  so  to  pray.  Free-will  was  her  own — to  obey,  or  disobey 
— to  adhere,  or  to  rebel.    Of  herself,  indeed,  she  could  not  have 


2^  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

resisted ;  but  she  had  equal  power  to  call  upon  the  Lord,  as  tfi 
listen  to  the  tempter.  According  to  the  path  she  chose,  would 
have  been  the  issue.  Infinite,  measureless,  as  is  the  love  of  the 
Eternal,  yet  how  dare  we  believe  He  will  grant  us  help  and 
strength,  unless  they  are  implored?  How  dare  we  believe  He 
will  come  forward  to  our  aid,  if  we  stand  forth  in  our  own 
strength,  as  if  we  needed  naught;  nay,  through  presumption, 
arrogance,  self-righteousness,  rebel  against,  and  defy  Him  ?  Ho 
had  said,  "  Eat  not  of  the  tree  of  knowledge,  for  on  the  day  thou 
eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die."  He  had  not  commanded 
only,  though  that  should  have  been  sufficient  from  a  loving 
Father  to  his  children  ;  but  the  command  was  enforced  with  a 
warning,  that  love  should  be  strengthened  by  reverential  fear. 
He  had  given  the  power  to  resist  temptation,  by  calling  upon 
HIM  :  but  if  that  power  were  trampled  upon  and  utterly  disre- 
garded ;  and  the  creature  of  His  hand,  whose  whole  existence, 
felicity,  strength,  wisdom,  had  their  being  but  in  Him,  so  de- 
pended upon  herself,  as  to  be  satisfied  with  her  own  strength, 
believing  it  was  in  her  power  to  become  as  a  god,  and  so  defy- 
ing Him,  is  it  contradiction  to  assert,  that  the  All-wise,  All- 
merciful,  AU-JUST,  permitted,  and  yet  punished  ?  Surely,  surely, 
there  is  not  one  portion  of  this  mournful  history,  which,  on 
mature  consideration,  will  be  found  irreconcilable  with  the 
attributes  of  the  Eternal,  or  with  His  dealings  with  His  creatures. 
"  She  took  of  the  fruit  thereof,  and  did  eat."  For  a  brief  inter- 
val, we  may  suppose,  the  tumult  within,  the  struggle  between 
virtue  and  vice,  innocence  and  guilt,  was  stilled  in  a  strange, 
fearf.'l  intoxication  of  sinful  joy.  She  had  broken  through  the 
barrier  which,  at  the  words  of  the  serpent,  seemed  suddenly  of 
iron,  it  so  degraded  her  by  its  harshness  and  injustice.  She  was 
INDEPENDENT,  had  acted  by  herself,  had  shaken  off  all  control; 
and  the  full  tide  of  guilty  pleasure  so  swept  over  her  soul  as  to 
permit  for  the  moment  no  thought  but  of  herself  But  this 
lasted  not  long :  the  reaction  came  with  the  one  thought — her 
husband.  Terror  of  his  anger  was,  in  all  probability,  the  first 
emotion — how  might  she  evade  it  ?  Fear,  notwithstanding  her 
independence,  deadened,  banished,  frustrated  every  feeling  of 
remorse;  repentance,  sorrow — all  would  avail  her  nothing  now; 
there  was  but  one  way  to  avert  her  husband's  wrath — to  make 
him  disobedient  as  herself  The  crime  would  appear  less  could 
another  share  it.     She  recollected  the  influence  she  possessed ; 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  27 

nay,  that  she  had  been  created  to  be  his  help,  to  soften  his 
sterner  and  less  yielding  nature,  and  would  it  fail  her  now  ? 
There  was  no  pause,  there  could  be  none ;  guilt  ever  hurries  on 
its  victims.  On  her  arguments,  her  persuasions,  holy  writ  is 
silent.  It  was  enough — "  she  gave  also  unto  her  husband  with 
her,  and  he  did  eat." 

The  crime  was  consummated.  Love  itself,  the  purest,  noblest, 
most  influencing  of  those  spiritual  blessings  vouchsafed  to  maa 
by  his  Creator — love,  deeper  for  the  creature  than  the  Creator, 
deeming  the  gift  more  precious  than  the  Giver — love  it  was 
which  to  Adam  was  the  tempter,  and  so  converted  the  richest 
blessing  to  the  direst  curse.  The  specious  oft'ers,  the  dazzling 
allurements  of  the  serpent  had,  perhaps,  to  his  stronger,  more 
steadfast  nature,  been  of  no  avail.  He  had  no  need  of  ambition, 
for  he  was  lord  over  the  whole  created  world.  A  glance  from 
his  eye,  a  stern  rebuke  from  his  lips,  had  awed  even  the  subtlest 
of  the  beasts  into  silence,  and  banished  him  for  ever  ;  but 
strength  and  firmness  fled  before  the  endearing  influence  of  the 
being,  whom,  created  to  perfect  his  happiness,  he  loved  better  than 
himself.  Excuse  for  his  weakness,  indeed,  there  is  none  ;  but  if 
such  may  be  the  extent  of  woman's  influence  (and  it  is  as  power- 
ful even  now),  how  fearful  is  her  responsibility,  and  how  deep 
should  be  her  humility,  how  fervent  her  petitions  for  gracs  to 
guide  aright ! 

Not  long  might  the  triumph  of  guilt  last.  Day  declined — 
the  tour  of  evening  came  which  they  were  wont  so  joyfully  to 
welcome,  for  it  brought  with  it  the  voice  of  God.  Remorse 
had  come  with  all  its  horrors,  and  now  for  the  first  time  the 
extent  of  their  sin  stood  before  them.  Terror  banished  all  of 
love,  as  all  of  joy ;  and  when  the  first  sound  of  the  Eternal's 
voice  reached  them,  they  fled  in  anguish  to  hide  themselves 
amid  the  trees  of  the  gfirden.  Vain  hope  !  but  proving  how  all 
of  spirit  and  of  mind  was  crushed  and  buried  in  this  first  and 
awful  sway  of  guilt.  "  And  the  Lord  God  called  unto  Adam,  and 
said  unto  him.  Where  art  thou  ?  And  he  said,  I  heard  thy  voice 
in  the  garden,  and  I  was  afraid,  because  I  was  naked ;  and  I  hid 
myself.  And  the  Lord  God  said,  Who  told  thee  that  thou  wast 
naked  ?  Hast  thou  eaten  of  the  tree  whereof  I  commanded 
thee  that  thou  shouldst  not  eat  ?  And  the  man  said.  The 
woman  thou  gavest  to  be  with  me  gave  me  of  the  fruit, 
and   I  did  eat.      And  the  Lord  God  said  unto  the  woman. 


28  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

What  is  this  thou  hast  done  ?  And  the  woman  said,  The 
serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat." 

Though  to  Him  all  was  known,  yet  would  not  the  beneficent, 
the  ever-loving,  aye,  even  at  that  moment  still,  lovinr/  God 
condemn  without  question,  judge  without  permitting  defence. 
And  how  upbraiding,  how  loving  the  appeal,  "  What  is  this 
that  thou  hast  done  ?"  breathing  a  Father's  sorrowing  mercy  in 
the  very  midst  of  justly  deserved  punishment.  There  was  no 
consuming  wrath,  no  terrifying  anger,  naught  to  betray  that 
mighty  and  awful  Being  at  whose  first  word  might  be  ajiuihila- 
tion. 

The  Eternal  pronounced  not  sentence  without  requiring  and 
waiting  for  reply :  but  what  was  that  reply  ?  Accusation 
of  another,  not  self-abhorrence  and  lowly  repentance.  How 
fearfuj!  as  the  change  wrought  in  the  heart,  as  well  as  in  the 
spirit  Ov  man,  by  his  sin  !  Where  now  was  his  deep  love  for 
Eve,  that  he  could  say,  vainly  hoping  to  exculpate  himself, 
"  The  woman  thou  didst  give  me,  she  gave  me  of  the  fruit,  and 
I  did  eat  ?"  She  had  led  him  by  the  power  of  his  love  into  sin  ; 
but  from  that  moment  her  power  was  at  an  end,  and  he  cared 
not  to  give  her  up  to  justice,  so  he  excused  himself.  How 
terrible  a  commencement  of  her  punishment  must  have  been 
her  husband's  words  to  the  still  loving  heart  of  Eve !  It  was 
true  she  had  done  as  he  had  said  ;  but  was  he  to  be  her  accuser  ? 
And  to  her  were  those  words  of  sorrowing  compassion  said, 
"  What  is  this  that  thou  hast  done  ?"  Hast  thou  indeed  so  used 
the  power,  the  beauty,  the  influence  with  which  I  endowed  thee 
for  so  dift'erent  a  purpose  ?  She  denied  it  not :  she  said  not  one 
word  to  justify  her  sin  towards  her  husband;  his  words  had 
entered  her  heart  with  the  first  sharp  pang  which  human  affec- 
tion knew,  and  there  was  no  attempt  at  defence  or  evasion ; — 
"The  serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did  eat."  If  Adam  had 
stooped  to  lyy  the  blame  of  his  own  weakness  upon  one  whom 
he  had  loved,  instead  of  bewailing  his  own  sin,  it  was  no  wonder 
Eve,  not  yet  awakened  to  what  she  should  have  done  to  avert 
the  temptation,  conscious  but  of  increasing  misery,  thought  only 
of  what  might  seem  excuse,  "  The  serpent  beguiled  me."  The 
Eternal  knew  she  had  spoken  truth  ;  and,  still  guided  by  that 
mercy  and  justice  which  in  God  alone  are  so  perfectly  united, 
there  is  no  need  of  "  man's  ways  "  to  reconcile  them,  proceeded 
to  pronounce  sentence  according  to  the  degrees  of  guilt. 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  29 

This  is  not  the  place  to  enter  into  a  dissertation  on  the 
Dunishment  awarded  to  the  serpent;  suffice  it  that  there  seems 
no  hidden  or  allegorical  meaning  in  the  inspired  historian's  simple 
words.  The  serpent,  as  a  beast  of  the  tield,  beguiled^  and  as  a 
beast  of  the  field  was,  pimiahed.  Nor  can  an  Israelite  acknow- 
ledge any  allusion  to,  or  any  necessity  for,  a  crucified  and  atoning 
Saviour,  in  the  very  simple  words,  "I  will  put  enmity  between 
thee  and  the  woman,  between  thy  seed  and  her  seed ;  it  sha'J 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt  bruise  his  heel."  For  a  Hebrew, 
the  words  can  only  be  taken  in  their  purely  literal  sense.  We 
are  particular  on  this  point ;  because  thus  early,  in  the  perusal 
of  the  sacred  Scriptures,  the  Jewish  and  Gentile  readings  differ ; 
and  from  childish  readings  of  Bible  histories  by  Gentile  writers, 
we  may  find  ourselves  giving  credence  to  an  assertion  for  which 
we  have  no  Mosaic  authority,  and  which,  in  after  years,  we  would 
gladly  root  out  from  the  mystical  and  contradictory  opinions 
with  which  it  confuses  our  ideas. 

Eve's  chastisement  was  severer  than  her  husband's,  and  it  was 
just  that  so  it  was,  for  she  was  the  first  transgressor.  Death, 
indeed, — that  the  dust  of  which  theyra??ie  was  composed  should 
return  to  dust, — was  the  awful  sentence  pronounced  on  both ; 
for  such  had  been  threatened  from  the  first  if  they  disobeyed : 
but  during  their  sojourn  upon  earth,  the  sharper  and  severer 
trial  of  pain,  of  multiplied  sorrows,  of  sinking  comparatively  in 
the  scale  of  strength  and  intellect,  of  becoming  subject  to  her 
husband,  not,  as  before,  from  the  sweet  obedience  of  love,  but 
from  the  sterner  mandate  of  duty  ;  of  being  exposed,  as  a  mother, 
to  a  hundred  sources  of  anguish  of  which  man  knows  nothing; 
for  his  deepest,  dearest  love  for  his  offspring  is  not  like  a  mother's, 
subject  to  the  thousand  petty  anxieties  and  cares  which,  indepen- 
dent of  severer  maternal  trials,  fill  her  heart  from  the  moment 
she  hears  the  first  faint  cry  of  the  new-born  until  death.  And 
these  trials  were  Eve's,  and  they  are  woman's.  Man  had,  indeed, 
his  work  ;  the  earth  was  cursed  through  his  sin,  and  forbidden 
to  yield  her  fruit  without  the  severest  labor  ;  he  was  to  go 
forth  from  the  Paradise  of  innocence  and  love  to  till  the  ground 
whence  he  was  taken — banished,  and  for  ever. 

The  voice  of  their  God,  tor  the  first  time  heard  in  reproachful 
though  still  forbearing  inquiry,  and  then  in  fearful  condemnation, 
removed  the  blackening  veil  of  sin.  The  spirit  burst  from  the 
chains  of  guilt  and  sin,  and  while  it  bowed  in  agony  and  remorse 


30  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

before  the  Father  and  the  Judge,  and  acknowledged  this  awful 
sentence  just,  drew  them  once  more  to  each  other.  Love  was 
not  given  only  for  the  iiappy  :  to  the  sorrowing,  the  repentant, 
it  comes  soothing  while  it  softens,  seeming,  even  while  it  deepens 
the  heavy  floods  of  grief,  to  banish  all  of  hardness,  of  selfishness, 
and  of  despair.  The  justice  of  the  Eternal  marked  the  woman 
as  the  greater  sinner — Adam's  further  wrath  was  needless ; 
remorse  too  told  him  that,  as  the  stronger,  the  firmer,  he  should 
have  resisted  her  persuasions,  that  his  disobedience  was  his  own 
sin,  not  her's ;  and  we  may  believe  that,  as  weak,  trembling, 
bowed  to  the  very  dust,  not  from  the  thoughts  of  her  own  chas- 
tisement so  much  as  from  the  reflection  of  what  she  had  hurled 
ujjon  her  husband,  for  such  still  is  woman,  Adam  once  more 
received  her  to  his  heart,  the  sharer  of  his  future  toils,  the  soother 
of  his  threatened  cares,  even  as  she  had  before  been  the  help- 
meet of  his  joy. 

And  already  Eve  needed  all  of  strength  and  comfort  her  earthly 
lord  might  give.  Still  remembering  mercy,  the  Eternal  clothed 
them  for  their  departure,  endowing  them  with  those  faculties  of 
invention,  alike  for  their  personal  comfort  as  for  the  tillage  of 
the  ground,  for  which  they  had  no  need  in  Eden  ;  but  the  very 
gift  betrayed  the  bleak  and  desert  world  they  were  about  to  seek. 
Could  they  but  remain  in  the  home  of  their  past  innocence  and 
joy,  the  anguish  of  the  present  might  be  sooner  healed.  Who 
that  thinks  a  moment  of  what  we  now  feel  in  turning  from  a 
beloved  home,  the  scene  of  all  our  early  hopes  and  joys  and  love, 
adorned  with  ail  of  nature  and  of  art,  to  seek  another,  im- 
poverished, and  fraught  with  toil  and  danger,  apart  from  every 
object,  animate  or  inanimate,  which  has  twined  round  our  hearte 
and  bound  us  there, — who,  that  pictures  scenes  like  these,  will 
refuse  our  general  mother  the  need  of  sympathy  as  she  turned 
from  Eden.  A  change  perhaps  her  sin  had  wrought  even  there. 
The  birds  flew  aloft,  trembling  to  approach  that  gentle  bosom 
which  had  before  been  their  resting-place ;  the  young  animals 
fled  in  terror  from  her  step ;  and  there  was  that  in  the  changed 
tierce  aspects  of  the  beasts  of  the  field,  which  caused  her  heart  to 
sicken  with  deadly  fear.  The  very  flowers  hung  their  heads  and 
drooped  when  gathered  ;  they  could  not  bear  the  touch  of  sin. 
Yet  to  that  woman's  heart  Eden  was  Eden  still — her  home,  the 
receiver  of  all  those  varied  channels  of  love  which  could  be  spared 
from  her  husband ;  and  to  turn  from  it,  never  to  approach  it  more. 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  31 

and  from  the  consequences  of  her  own  act,  how  deep  must  have 
been  her  agony,  how  touching  its  remorse,  and  how  necessary 
the  support  of  love  ! 

Though  Moses,  in  his  brief  detail  of  past  events,  simply  follows 
the  expulsion  from  Eden  by  the  birth  of  Cain,  we  have  sufficient 
authority  from  the  unchangeable  attributes  of  the  Eternal,  to 
believe,  that  the  same  love  which  provided  Adam  and  Eve  with 
clothing,  directed  and  blessed  their  wanderings  ;  and  though  no 
longer  revealing  His  gracious  presence,  as  in  Eden,  yet  still 
inspiring  the  power  of  prayer  and  belief  in  His  constant  omni- 
presence and  protection.  Their  sin  had  indeed  changed  their 
earthly  nature, — the  good  had  been  conquered  by  the  evil.  It 
was  henceforth  a  difficult  and  weary  task  to  subdue  the  evil 
inclinations,  theproneness  to  disobedience  and  self-righteousness. 
It  was  a  labor  of  toil  and  tears  to  bring  the  heavenly  essence 
once  more  even  to  a  faint  and  disfigured  likeness  of  its  God  ;  the 
voice  of  the  soul,  once  silenced  as  it  had  been,  could  only  be 
heai'd  after  years  of  watching  and  prayer.  The  Eternal,  in  His 
prescience,  knew  this  would  be,  not  so  much  in  x\dam  himself 
(for  repentance  and  sorrow  brought  him  back  through  his 
punishment  to  holiness  and  constant  commvme  with  his  God),  but 
in  his  offspring.  Further  and  further,  as  the  children  of  men 
advanced  from  their  first  father — as  the  tale  of  creation,  of  the 
Eternal's  visible  presence  in  Paradise,  of  all  which  His  love  had 
formed  for  His  favored  creature,  man,  became  fainter  and  fainter 
in  the  distance  of  the  past, — so  would  the  likeness  of  the  Lord 
in  which  man  was  made,  become  more  and  more  effaced,  and 
siu  become  more  and  more  ascendant.  For  this  reason  then  it 
was,  that  the  Eternal,  alike  in  His  wisdom  and  justice  and  mercy, 
ordained  death  as  the  end  of  all,  the  righteous  and  the  wicked ; 
for  Solomon  himself  telleth  us  "  there  is  no  man  that  sinnetli 
not :"  and  we  read  in  the  narrative  of  Moses  himself  (Gen.  vi.  6) 
that  every  imagination  of  man's  heart  was  only  evil  continually, 
and  it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had  made  man  on  the  earth, 
and  it  grieved  him  at  his  heart ;  and  again  (Gen.  viii.),  "  I  will 
not  curse  the  ground  any  more  for  man's  sake  ;  for  the  imagina- 
tion of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth." 

But  the  Mosaic  creed  of  love  and  perfect  justice  goes  no 
further.  We  utterly  repudiate,  deny,  and  hold  in  abhorrence, 
the  awful  creed  which  condemns  every  man's  soul  for  the  sin  of 
A-dam.     To  use  the  language  of  our  own  venerable  sages : — 

VOL.    T.  3 


32  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

"  Although  the  descendants  of  Adam  inherited  the  body  from 
him,  and  with  it  the  maledictions  attached  thereto,  it  is  not 
because  they  received  corporeal  existence  from  him  that  the 
souls  of  all  mankind  are  condemned,  for  they  had  not  existence 
jrom  Adam,  but  are  a  direct  emanation  from  God.  Therefore 
Noah,  Shem,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  all  the  other  just, 
did  not  pay  the  sin  of  Adam,  nor  were  their  souls  condemned."  * 
And  still  more  convincing  proof  from  the  Word  of  God ;  Pen- 
tateuch, History,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  and  Prophets,  almost  every 
page  bears  witness  that  each  man  is  resjjonsible  for  his  own 
individual  acts. — "  See,  I  have  set  before  you  this  day  Life  and 
Good,  Death  and  Evil;  therefore  choose  life,  that  thou  and 
thy  seed  may  live"  (Deut.  xxx.  15  and  19).  "  Then  they  that 
feared  the  Lord  spake  often  one  to  another  ;  and  the  Lord 
hearkened,  and  heard  it:  and  a  book  of  remembrance  was 
written  before  Him  for  them  that  feared  the  Lord  and  thought 
upon  his  name.  And  they  shall  be  mine,  saith  the  Lord  of 
hosts,  in  that  day  when  I  make  up  my  jewels ;  and  I  will  spare 
them,  as  a  man  spareth  his  own  son  that  serveth  him.  Then 
shall  ye  return,  and  discern  between  the  righteous  and  the 
WICKED ;  between  him  that  serveth  God,  and  him  that  serveth 
him  not''''  (Mai.  iii.  16,  17,  18).  '■'■  Repent,  smdi  turn  yourselves 
from  all  your  transgressions  ;  so  iniquity  shall  not  he  your  ruin. 
Cast  away  from  you  all  your  transgressions,  whereby  ye  have 
transgressed  ;  and  make  you  a  new  heart  and  a  new  spirit :  for 
why  wiL  ye  die,  O  house  of  Israel  ?  For  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  saith  the  Lord  God  :  therefore' turn 
yourselves,  and  live  ye"  (Eze.  xviii.  30,  31,  32).  "Turn  ye 
unto  me,  saith  the  Lord  of  hosts,  and  I  will  turn  unto  you" 
(Zach.  i.  3). 

It  wo  '.Id  be  useless  transcribing  all  the  passages  in  the  Bible 
similar  to  the  above — and  teeming  with  the  doctrine  of  indivi- 
dual responsibility,  and  individual  power  to  regain  the  favor  of 
the  Eternal — which  is  completely  oppos.ed  to  the  Gentile  creed. 
But  while  we  reject,  wholly  and  utterly,  all  belief  in  the  Naza- 
rene  doctrine,  that  we  are  each  and  all,  even  the  new-born  babe, 
condemned  to  everlasting  misery  unless  we  acknowledge  Jesus 
— reject  it,  because  it  is  contrary  to   the   doctrines  of  Moses ; 

*  The  Conciliator,  vol.  ii.  page  214.  Translated  from  the  Spanish  of 
Manasseh  Ben  Israel,  by  E.  H.  Lindo,  Esq. 


PERIOD      I, EVE.  33 

contrary  to  the  whole  spirit  of  the  Bible ;  contrary  to  every 
attribute  of  a  just  and  merciful  God  ;  we  equally  reject  the  mis- 
taken and  sceptical  belief  that  the  disobedience  of  our  first 
parents  in  no  way  affects  us  now.  If  its  effects  were  only  con- 
lined  to  them,  where  is  the  mercy,  the  justice  of  the  Lord,  in 
condemning  a^^  their  seed  to  return  to  the  dust?  Who  that 
looks  into  himself  and  knows  the  "  plague  of  his  own  heail," 
the  difficulty  to  realize  spirituality  and  huhness — who  that  reads 
his  Bible  with  faith  and  prayer,  and  marks  the  prevalence  of 
evil  even  there,  the  failings  and  the  weaknesses  of  the  holiest 
men,  even  those  hallowed  by  the  appellation  of  the  "  fi-ieuds  of 
God,"  will  still  refuse  belief  that  the  disobedience  of  our  first 
parents  so  far  altered  our  nature  as  to  give  the  body  more  pow- 
erful dominion  than  the  soul  ;  and  thus,  by  deadening  the 
spiritual  influence  within  us,  exposing  us  to  temptation  of  every 
kind,  and  consequently  but  too  often  to  sin  ;  and  rendering  it  a 
difficult  and  often  desponding  task  to  give  the  spiritual  domi- 
nion over  the  corjwreal,  and  to  devote  our  whole  hearts — not 
alone  in  our  closets,  but  in  the  duties  and  occupations  of  the 
world  still  to  serve  and  love  our  God.  What  would  have  been 
the  glorious  nature  of  Adam  and  Eve  if  they  had  not  sinned, 
we  know  not ;  for  it  is  a  subject  far  too  holy  for  speculation  or 
conjecture :  but  that  their  transgression  produced  conse(|uences 
which  demanded  that  not  only  themselves  but  their  seed  should 
return  to  dust,  is  a  scnptural  truth  which  no  one  who  believes 
in  Moses  and  the  Prophets  can,  we  think,  have  sufficient  bold- 
ness to  deny.  But  the  soul  it  touched  not. — An  emanation 
from  God  Himself,  it  will  return  to  Him,  untouched  by  any  sin 
but  those  of  the  body  in  whom  it  was  breathed ;  and  there,  at 
the  bar  of  God,  our  own  acts,  purified  by  mercy,  judged  by  the 
ways  and  thoughts  of  the  Lord — which  are  not  the  ways  and 
thoughts  of  man — guided  by  the  law  his  mercy  gave,  hallowed 
by  faith  and  justified  by  love — our  own  acts  must  be  our  wit- 
ness or  our  condemnation.  Nor  is  this  an  individual  doctrine 
lightly  and  carelessly  entered  upon  or  produced  from  one  par- 
ticular class  of  reading.  It  has  been  the  thought  and  study  of 
long  years,  based  on  an  earnest  and  prayerful  study  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  on  the  spirit  pervading  the  writings  of  every 
Hebrew  sage  which  are  accessible  to  woman.  We  have  brought 
it  strongly  forward ;  because,  unless  we  know  exactly  what  we 
do  believe  and  what  we  do  not  beheve  from  the  very  beginning 


84  THE       WOMEN       OFISRAEL 

of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  our  readings  must  always  be  attended 
with  obscurity  and  ]3ain,  and  the  very  attributes  of  the  Eternal 
difficult  to  be  realized  amid  the  awful  scenes  of  wickedness 
which  the  histoi'ical  books  present.  We  will  now  proceed  with 
the  more  private  history  of  Eve. 

Years  must  have  rolled  over  the  heads  of  our  first  parents 
since  their  expulsion,  ere  the  fearful  event  took  place,  which, 
although  it  mentions  not  their  names,  must  recall  our  attention 
to  them.  Although,  in  comparison,  they  had  become  degraded, 
and  the  recollection  of  their  sin  must  ever  have  remained  with 
its  stinging  remorse, — still,  repentance  and  real  sorrow,  meek 
submission  to  their  chastisement  and  acknowledgment  of  its 
justice,  raised  them  from  their  first  abject  misery,  and  permitted 
them  once  more,  through  prayer  and  thanksgiving  and  sacrifice, 
to  commune  with  the  Lord.  Eve's  exclamation  on  the  birth  of 
Cain — "  I  have  gotten  a  man  from  the  Lord,"  proves  how  closely 
and  devoutly  she  still  traced  all  blessings  from  His  gracious 
hand  : — hallowing  her  maternal  joy  by  gratitude  to  Him.  His 
love  had  bestowed  on  her  a  blessing  unknown  even  in  Eden — a 
child — a  possession  peculiarly  her  own  and  her  husband's  ;  -and 
in  the  exultation  of  her  grateful  joy  she  calls  his  name  T^p  Cain, 
from  nipj^  to  possess  or  to  acquire.  In  his  early  infancy,  ere  he 
became  awake  to  right  and  wrong,  his  parents  could  but  feel 
enjoyment  to  train  him  up  so  as  to  know  no  sin,  to  love  and 
serve  the  Lord,  and  to  give  them  love  and  reverence  in  return 
for  the  deep,  endless  fondness  they  lavished  upon  him.  But  by 
the  name  bestowed  upon  their  second  son,  Abel,  we  may  almost 
suppose  that  they  had  already  felt  the  vanity  of  these  hopes  and 
wishes  ;  that  even  in  his  boyhood  Cain  manifested  those  evil 
passions  and  that  headstrong  will,  which  led  in  after  years  to 
Buch  fearful  consequences. 

The  effects  of  Eve's  disobedience  were  now  to  be  displayed  in 
her  own  offspring — the  child  of  exultation  and  joy — whom 
she  had  welcomed  with  such  delight,  that  she  almost  felt  as  if 
no  sorrow  or  suffering  could  assail  her  more,  was  the  instrument 
m  the  Eternal  hand  to  bring  her  back  meekly  and  submissively 
to  Him,  in  prayer  for  that  beloved  one,  in  recognition  that 
her  sin  was  working  still.  The  passions  and  rebellion  of 
her  first-born  brought  all  the  agony  of  remorse  fresh  upon 
her  heart ;  and  deep  as  was  the  joy  with  which  she  had  hailed 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  35 

his  birth,  was  the  anxiety,  the  suffering,  his  dawning  cha- 
racter called  forth. 

Actuated  by  such  emotions,  it  was  with  sorrow,  then,  mora 
than  joy,  that  the  birth  of  her  second  boy  was  hailed.  She 
had  already  felt  the  vanity,  the  transientness  of  her  hopes  ;  and 
mournfully  she  called  his  name  b^l^  Hebel — transientness  or 
vanity,  from  i^n^  which  signifies  to  follow  a  vain  thing,  to 
cherish  vain  thoughts.  But  as  is  the  case  (how  often  even 
now  !)  the  child  of  tears  and  antic.pated  sorrow,  proved  as  dear 
and  precious  a  blessing  as  the  son  of  exultation  was  of 
grief.  She  saw  in  him  the  ascendency  of  the  spiritual,  the 
deathless  part  of  their  mingled  nature,  that  evil  could  still 
be  subdued,  and  man  be  still  acceptable  and  worthy  in 
the  sight  of  his  Creator.  The  compassionate  love  of  the  Eter- 
nal, while  He  chastised  through  Cain,  gave  hope  and  trust  and 
comfort  through  Abel.  He  showed  through  these  varying 
natures,  that  free  will  to  choose  the  good  and  eschew  the 
evil  was  still  given  ;  and  that  though  the  latter  to  the  eyes 
of  the  world  might  seem,  nay  was,  the  ascendant.  He  would 
yet  preserve  his  witnesses  among  mankind,  to  keep  alive  the 
knowledge  of  the  Lord,  and  prove  the  pre-eminence,  the  beauty, 
the  glor)',  and  the  consolation  of  piety  and  virtue. 

So  years  rolled  on :  the  boys  grew  up  to  manhood.  And 
though  it  is  not  specifically  mentioned,  it  is  evident  that 
Eve  must  also  have  borne  a  daughter,  who,  as  was  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  the  early  stages  of  the  world,  became 
the  wife  of  Cain.  Some  writers  believe  that  Cain  and  Abel 
were  both  born  with  twin  sisters.  It  may  or  may  not  be, 
as  it  must  be  only  conjecture — though  Cain's  wife  only  is  men- 
tioned. 

The  words  of  scripture  '"  and  he  (Adam)  begat  sons  and 
daughters,"  are  sufficient  for  our  information.  In  all  probability 
his  family  was  a  large  one, — that  his  seed  might  fulfil  the 
intention  of  the  Eternal  in  peopling  the  world  ;  but  how  many 
daughters  he  had  before  the  death  of  Abel  does  not  appear,  and 
is  of  little  consequence. 

During  the  growth  of  their  elder  children,  the  lives  of 
our  first  parents  difter  little  in  feeling  from  those  of  the  present 
day.  Their  employments,  indeed,  were  as  unlike  as  patriarchal 
simplicity  is  from  worldly   interest  and  luxury — the  peace  of 


36  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

nature  from  the  contention  of  the  world.  In  reading  the  narra« 
tives  of  the  Bible,  we  often  blend  situation  with  feeling,  and 
believe  that  as  the  one  is  too  antiquated  for  interest  and  exam- 
ple, so  is  the  other  for  sympathy  and  love.  But  the  Bible  tells 
of  no  character  above  human  nature ;  and  why  not  tlien,  in 
perusing  the  circumstances  of  their  simple  lives,  try  their  feelings 
by  the  standard  of  our  own  ?  Who  that  is  a  mother,  does  not 
feel  anxiety,  pleasure,  grief,  joy,  despondency,  and  hope,  almost 
all  at  the  same  time,  according  to  the  differing  dispositions  of  her 
children  ?  Who  that  is  a  parent  does  not  acknowledge  that 
maternal  love  may  combine  the  intensest  joy  with  the  intensest 
grief?  And  will  they  not  then  sympathize  in  the  feehngs 
of  Eve  ? — at  one  time  bowed  to  the  very  dust  in  the  anguish 
occasioned  by  the  sinful  inclinations  and  rude  temper  of  her  first 
born,  in  self-accusation  that  she,  perhaps,  was  the  original  cause, 
even  as  an  affectionate  mother  very  often  accuses  herself  for  the 
faults  of  her  offspring — at  another,  weeping  tears  of  sweet  joy, 
and  love,  and  consolation,  on  the  gentle  bosom  of  her  Abel, 
whose  whole  life  and  thoughts  were  directed  to  piety  and  virtue 
to  God  and  to  his  parents — whose  very  existence,  as  her 
own  had  been  in  Paradise,  seemed  bright  with  reverence 
and  love  ? 

But  even  this  life  of  mingled  grief  and  comfort  might  not 
last.  Not  yet  had  Eve  sufficiently  atoned  for  her  disobedience, 
and  proved  her  love  and  faith,  to  pass  through  the  awful  portals 
of  death  to  the  home  prepared  for  her  in  heaven.  Death, 
as  concerned  herself,  her  husband,  her  children,  was  still 
the  dark  shadow  through  which  as  yet  no  certain  light  had 
beamed.  The  Eternal,  in  His  mercy,  had  prepared  to  reveal  it, 
but  through  clouds  of  denser,  more  appalling  blackness  than  had 
yet  gathered  round  His  creatures. 

Wrought  up  to  phi'ensy  bv  the  preference  manifested  towards 
the  pious  offering  of  his  younger  brother — refusing  to  acknow- 
ledge that  it  was  the  temper  of  his  own  mind  at  iiiult,  and  that 
he  had  himself  trampled  on,  and  defied  the  favor  he  yet 
coveted,  when  shown  to  another — still  sullenly  and  obstinately 
encouraging  the  evil,  even  when  the  Lord,  in  infinite  mercy, 
condescended  Himself  to  speak  with  his  rebellious  servant, 
and  asking  why  he  was  wroth,  informed  him  that  though 
sin  was  ever  crouching  beside  him,  he  (Cain)  had  the  poiver 
to  rule  over  and  subdue  it,  still  disregarding  even  this,  listening 


PERIOO      I. EVE.  37 

but  to  the  fearful  instigations  of  his  own  heart, —  *  it  came 
to  pass,  when  they  were  in  the  field  together,  that  Cain  rose  up 
against  his  brother  Abel,  and  slew  him." 

The    dark    terror  of  death  was   mysterious  no  longer.     In 
its  most  fearful,  most  ap|ialling  shape,  it  had  descended  upon 
earth — the  bright,  the  beautiful,  the  loving,  and  the  holy,  there 
he  lay  before  tlie  eyes  of  his  agonized  parents,  his  life-blood 
dyeing  the  green-sward — that  face  so  fair,  so  sweet  an  index 
of  the  pure    glorious  soul — those  limbs,    so  soft    and    round 
and   graceful,    whose    every    movement    had    brought  joj    to 
his  mother's  heart — they  gazed   upon  them  still,  beautiful  as 
if  he  slept,  save  that  there  was  a  stillness  and  a  coldness  as  the 
earth  on  which  he  lay.      This,  then,  was  death,  and  it  had  been 
dealt   by  a    brother''s    hand.     Can  any  woman,   much  less   a 
mother,   reflect  on  Eve's    immeasurable  agony,  and  yet  pass 
lightly  and  heedlessly  over  this  first  narration  of  Holy  Writ, 
refusing    sympathy,    even    interest,   in    the    deep    dark    floods 
of  misery,  with   which,    though   her  name  is   not  mentioned, 
those   few  words    of  a  brother's  hate  and  wrath  and  murder 
teem  ?     Not  alone   a  mother's  anguish,  deprived  of  both  her 
children    in    one  fearful   day — not,  not  alone    the  wild  yearn- 
ings   of    affection    towards    the    guilty    and  the  exile,  strug- 
gling  with  the  passionate  misery  for  her  own  bereavement,  but 
more  crushing,  more  agonizing  still — it  was  her  work — she  had 
disobeyed  to  obtain  the  knowledge  of  good  and  evil, — and  how 
appallingly  had    that   forbidden    knowledge    poured    back    its 
stinging  poison  into  her  own  heart !      Her  beautiful  had  fallen 
— she    might  never,   never   gaze   upon   him,    list    his    sweet 
voice  more — the  dust  had  gone  to  its  dust — sent  to  his  grave  in 
his  youth,  his  sinlessness — the  helpless  and  the  innocent  crushed 
by  the  strong  hand  of  the  guilty — and  the  Eternal  had  looked 
down  from  his  awful  throne  and  interfered  not.      Why  had  the 
only  innocent,  the  only   righteous,  being  the  first  to  pay  the 
penalty  of  death,  when  his  guilty  parents  and  yet  more  guilty 
brother  were  permitted  still  to  live?       Nay,  the  doom  of  Cain, 
which  the  hardened  one  himself  declared  "  was  greater  than  he 
could  bear,"  was  not  to  die,  but  live  as  a  wanderer  whom  none 
might  slay.      Why  might  such  things  be  ?      Were  they  recon- 
cilable  with  those  attributes   of  justice  and  of  love  and   long 
suffering,  which  the  Eternal  had  already  proclaimed,  through 


38  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

His  conduct,  to  his  creatures  ?  They  were  :  for  in  the  death  of 
the  innocent,  immortality  was  proclaimed  ! 

The  disobedient  looked  on  the  death  their  sin  had  brought — 
they  felt,  in  their  own  bosoms,  the  deepest  agony  of  bereave- 
raent — they  saw  not  the  terror,  only  as  the  end  of  existence  ; 
but  by  the  scythe  cutting  down  the  young  in  his  first  beautiful 
spring,  and  in  the  full  prime  of  holiness  and  good,  they  learned 
what  their  own  death,  at  the  moment  of  disobedience,  could  not 
have  taught — that  the  righteous  must  also  be  cut  off,  as  well  as 
the  guilty — that  death  was  not  only  chastisement  for  itself 
alone,  but  in  the  deep  agony  it  inflicted  upon  the  living,  in  the 
awful  trial  of  separation  and  bereavement,  and  the  utter  loneli- 
ness of  heart  when  a  beloved  one  goes ;  and,  this  learned,  the 
world  beyond  death,  the  dwelling  of  the  righteous,  the  reunion 
of  the  divine  essence  with  its  parent  Fount — immortality — was 
revealed  ! 

That  the  caviller,  the  sceptic,  the  thoughtless  will  deny  this, 
because  we  can  bring  forward  no  written  proof  of  its  truth,  we 
are  perfectly  aware  :  but  we  write  for  tlie  believer,  for  the  Israel- 
ite, who  not  only  reads  the  words  of  his  Bible,  but  explains 
them  by  one  only  unerring  test,  the  attributes  of  God.  The 
question  is  simply  this — Do  we  believe  in  a  God  ?  That  He  is, 
as  He  proclaimed  Himself,  "merciful  and  gracious,  long-suffer- 
ing, and  abundant  in  goodness  and  truth,  keeping  mercy  for 
thousands,  forgiving  iniquity  and  sin,  yet  clearing  not  the  guilty," 
without  repentance  and  amendment  ?  Do  we  believe  in  Him, 
as  in  every  page  of  His  Holy  Word  He  is  revealed,  or  do  we 
not  ?  If  we  do  not — if  we  deny  the  existence  of  a  just  and 
merciful,  though  in  many  instances  inscrutable,  G>d,  then 
indeed  we  may  deny  our  immortality  ;  but  if  we  acknowledge 
there  is  a  God,  aye,  and  one  whose  justice  and  whose  love  are 
infinite  and  perfect  as  Himself,  we  must  not  only  believe  in  our 
own  immortality,  but  trace  its  doctrine  running  through  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  alike  from  the  death  of  Abel  to  the  last  verses  of 
Malachi,  pervading,  vivifying,  spii'itualizing  its  every  portion, 
even  as  our  mortal  frame  is  pervaded,  vivified,  and  spiritualized, 
by  the  invisible,  yet  ever  breathing  soul.  We  do  not  doubt 
and  question  that  we  have  a  soul,  because  we  have  nothing  pal- 
pable and  evident  by  which  to  p7-ove  it ;  and  even  as  the  soul 
is  the  essence,  the  spirit  of  our  being,  so  is  immortality  the 
essence  and  the  spirit  of  the  Bible. 


PERIOD     I. EVE.  39 

Where  was  the  mercy,  nay,  the  justice  of  the  Eternal,  had  he 
punished  with  eternal  death  the  only  righteous  of  His  creatures  ? 
We  can  scarcely  even  dwell  upon  the  idea  for  a  moment  with- 
out impiety.  Abel  was  taken,  that  while  death  in  his  most 
fearful  form  was  revealed  to  manifest  all  the  terrible  evil  and 
anguish  Eve's  sin  had  brought,  the  hope  and  promise  of 
inmiortality  might  be  given,  and  the  agonized  parents  comforted. 
He  was  removed  "  from  the  evil  to  come,"  to  that  world,  where 
"  light  had  been  sown  for  the  righteous"  from  the  beginning, 
and  would  be  for  ever. 

But  though  this  revelation  must  have  brought  with  it  com- 
fort unspeakable,  yet  the  heavy  trial  of  Eve  might  not  even, 
through  this  beneficent  assurance,  be  entirely  assuaged.  She 
could  not  now,  as  she  had  done  in  Eden,  realize  so  blessedly  the 
pre-eminence  of  the  spirit  over  the  feelings  of  the  clay.  Thou'gh 
comforted,  the  weakness  of  humanity  must  still  have  been  too 
often  in  the  ascendant,  and  taught  her  all  the  bitterness  of  grief. 
Even  though  the  thought  of  Abel  might,  through  the  unselfish- 
ness of  woman's  love,  be  tranquillized  by  the  idea,  that  however 
she  might  suffer,  he  was  happy,  as  she  had  been  in  Eden,  no 
such  comfort  could  attend  the  thought  of  Cain.  It  was  vain  to 
measure  maternal  love  by  the  worth  or  un worthiness  of  its 
objects.  It  was  not  only  that  he  was  exiled  for  ever  from  her 
sight,  that  her  yearning  heart  might  never  seek  to  soothe  him 
more  ;  but  she  knew  that  he  was,  he  must  be  a  wretched  wanderer, 
and  the  mother  felt  his  wretchedness,  thougli  she  saw  it  not,  in 
addition  to  her  own.  Mercy,  indeed,  had  tempered  his  chastise- 
ment, for  he  had  not  been  cut  off  in  his  sin — he  had  been 
doomed  to  length  of  days  on  earth,  that  he  might  repent  and 
atone ;  but  this,  to  a  weak  and  suffering  parent,  though  she 
might  struggle  to  lift  up  her  heart  in  gratitude,  could  not  afford 
consolation. 

There  is  little  more  to  narrate  in  the  life  of  Eve  ;  but  that 
little,  as  every  other  incident  in  her  life,  proves  forcibly  the 
Eternal's  still  compassionating  love.  To  remove  all  of  utter 
bereavement  from  His  first  created,  first  beloved,  when  the  first 
agony  of  Eve's  heavy  trial  was  over,  God  gave  her  another 
son.  And  she  called  his  name  nd  Seth,  because  she  said,  God 
has  appointed  me  another  seed  instead  of  Abel,  whom  Gain 
slew."  And  as  from  Seth  descended  a  line  of  venerable  patri- 
archs, one  of  whom  was  taken  up  to  heaven,  without  dying,  tor 

3* 


40  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

his  righteousness ;  and  from  them  came  Noah,  who  alone  was 
saved  from  universal  destruction  ;  then  through  him  Abraham, 
the  favored  servant  and  friend  of  the  Eternal — Abraham,  for 
whose  sake  Israel  was  the  chosen,  and  is  still  the  beloved  of 
the  Lord,  we  may  quite  believe  that  Eve  was  not  only  com- 
forted by  the  gift  of  a  son,  but  that  even  as  Abel  he  was 
righteous,  and  that  he  was  the  comforter  of  his  parents — that 
in  beholding  his  opening  manhood,  the  dawning  virtue  and 
graces  of  his  spirit,  the  fiery  trial  of  their  early  life  was  soothed, 
and  they  could  trace  the  hand  of  the  Lord  bringing  forth  good 
out  of  the  very  midst  of  evil,  and  rest  satisfied,  that  however 
the  strong  and  the  guilty  might  seem  to  prosper,  He  would 
never  leave  Himself  without  witnesses  upon  earth. 

Although  there  is  no  mention  of  the  death  of  Eve,  the  words 
of  Holy  Writ,  informing  us  that  "  Adam  lived  eight  hun- 
dred years  after  he  had  begotten  Seth,  and  had  sons  and 
daughters,"  would  prove  that  she,  too,  lived  that  period,  there 
being  no  mention  whatever,  as  is  often  the  case  with  the  other 
patriarchs,  of  Adam  taking  another  wife.  The  former  tempta- 
tions, trials,  and  sorrows  of  our  first  parents,  must  have  then 
been  looked  back  upon  by  them  in  their  old  age,  as  we  should 
look  on  the  events  which  may  have  befallen  us  before  the  age 
of  twenty,  when  we  have  reached  the  venerable  years  of  four- 
score. That  long  life  was  evidently  granted  in  mercy.  Had 
they  been  cut  oft'  on  the  instant  of  their  transgression,  it  must 
have  been  for  eternity,  or  death  would  have  been  no  punish- 
ment. Had  they  been  taken  sooner,  we  will  suppose  before  the 
death  of  Abel,  though  they  might  have  been  spared  that  bitter 
sorrow,  still  darkness,  and  fear  for  themselves,  and  doubt  as  to 
the  ways  and  attributes  of  the  Eternal,  must  have  crowded 
round  them,  and  filled  them  with  despair  as  to  the  probable 
eftects  of  their  sin  on  their  offspring,  and  their  offspring's  seed. 
Long  life,  through  the  infinite  mercy  of  the  Eternal,  removed 
these  evils.  While  they  felt,  in  all  the  bitterness  of  remorse, 
all  the  evil  they  had  wrought,  they  were  yet  comforted  by  the 
revelation  of  imraortjdity,  and  the  consequent  incentive  for  the 
struggling  after  righteousness,  which,  without  such  blessed  incen- 
tive, man  could  never  have  achieved.  They  beheld,  that 
though  the  likeness  of  God  within  them  had  been  dulled  in  all, 
and  in  some  would  be  almost  entirely  eSiiced,  it  might  in 
heaven  be  regained,  if  while  on  earth  it  was  sought  with  faith 


PKRIODI, EVE  41 

and  works.  They  learned,  that  though  discord,  strife,  and 
oppression,  and  labor,  and  care,  would  reign  tumultuously  on 
earth,  to  the  extinction,  in  appearance^  of  all  that  was  spiritual 
and  good,  there  was  yet  in  heaven  an  omnipresent  and  ever- 
acting  love,  which  would  so  over-rule  the  world,  that  even 
from  "  transitory  evil"  would  spring  forth  "  universal  good," 
and  every  seemingly  dark  and  contradictory  event  below,  tend 
to  the  glory,  the  extension,  and  the  perfection  of  the  divine 
economy  above. 

To  obtain  this  knowledge  our  first  parents  were  spared,  and 
not  cut  otr  in  their  sin ;  and  can  we,  their  oflspring,  even  at  this 
length  of  time,  peruse  their  eventful  history,  without  feeling  our 
hearts  glow  with  grateful  adoration  of  the  love  which  guided 
and  hallowed  them  throughout!  The  stream  of  time  which 
divides  us  is  indeed  so  wide,  that  we  are  apt  to  feel  that  events 
so  far  distant  can  concern  us  little.  Yet  while  we  trace  in  our 
mortal  frame,  and  painful  infirmities,  the  effects  of  their  disobedi- 
ence^ shall  we  not  acknowledge,  with  grateful  and  adoring  faith, 
that  the  same  love  which  guided,  blessed,  and  pardoned  them, 
is  still  extended  unto  us  ? 

To  dwell  in  paradise,  to  be  blessed  with  direct  communings 
with  the  Eternal  and  His  heavenly  messengers,  are  indeed  not 
ours  ;  but  many  a  home — aye,  many  a  lot  is  a  sinless  paradise 
to  a  young  and  gentle  girl ;  and  loving  parents  will  so  throng 
her  path  with  care  and  blessings,  that  of  evil  she  knows  little, 
and  temptation  is  afar  oflP.  And  often,  too  often,  like  Eve, 
these  blessings  are  undervalued  and  sacrificed,  not  through  her 
sit  and  disobedience,  but  from  woman's  unfortunate  desire  to 
gras'i  something  more  than  is  her  allotted  jyortion  ; — her  discon- 
tent with  the  lowliei  station  which  her  weaker  frame  and  less 
powerful  mind  mark  imperatively  as  her  own — her  mistaken 
notion,  that  humility  is  degradation  ;  and  unless  she  compels 
man  to  accede  to  her  her  rights,  they  will  be  trampled  on,  and 
never  acknowledged — her  curiosity  leading  her  too  often  to 
covet  knowledge  which  she  needs  not  for  the  continuance 
of  her  happiness.  Oh  !  let  not  woman  deny  that  such  too  often 
are  her  characteristics,  and  exclaim  with  scorn  of  Eve's  weakness, 
that  had  she  been  in  Eve's  place,  surrounded  with  felicity  as  she 
was,  the  forbidden  tree  might  have  remained  for  ever  ere  she 
would  have  touched  it.  She  who  thus  thinks,  commits  uncon- 
sciously Eve's  first  sin,  trusting  too  much  in  her  own  strength; 


42  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

and,  iu  consequence,  is  just  as  likely  to  fall  beneath  the  very  first 
temptation  which  assails  her. 

Let  her  not  quiet  such  fears  by  the  thought  that  Eve's  par- 
ticular temptation  cannot  be  hers.  No  ;  but  snares  innume- 
rable, and  equally  fearful,  surround  us.  Each  day  brings  its 
own  temptations,  each  day  calls  upon  us  to  pray  against  them  ; 
for  we  know  not  how  or  in  what  shape  they  may  arise,  and  how 
soon,  if  we  trust  in  our  own  strength,  they  may  triumph  and 
lead  us  to  perdition.  Had  Eve  been  truly  humble  she  had  not 
sinned.  And  if  in  Eden  humility  was  needed,  if  even  there, 
without  such  panoply  of  proof,  woman  fell,  how  much  more 
should  we  encourage  it  now !  Humility  is  to  woman  her  truest 
safeguard,  her  loveliest  ornament,  her  noblest  influence,  her 
greatest  strength.  Teaching  her  her  true  station  in  regard  to 
man,  it  leads  her  ever  to  the  footstool  of  her  God,  thence  to 
derive  firmness,  devotedness,  fortitude,  consolation,  hope,  all  that 
she  needs.  While  such  privilege  is  hers,  let  her  not  repine 
that  God  lowered  Eve  and  made  her  less  than  man ;  let  her  not 
look  back  with  anger  that  the  sin  of  one  woman  should  thus 
punish  her  descendants.  From  the  very  first  she  was  endowed 
ditferently  to  man ;  had  she  not  been  the  weaker,  the  serpent 
had  not  marked  her  as  his  easier  prey.  And,  as  our  own 
nature  is  even  now  as  Eve's,  let  us  rather  thank  God  that  his 
love  has  granted  us  that  lowly  station  where  our  natural  quali- 
ties may  best  be  proved,  and  our  weaknesses  and  failings  have 
less  power  to  work  us  harm.  Let  us  cultivate,  with  all  our 
heart  and  soul  and  might,  the  lovely  flower  of  humility,  which, 
by  teaching  us  to  think  lowlily  of  ourselves,  will  render  us  con- 
tented and  thankful  for  the  blessings  around  us,  the  gifts 
bestowed  on  us,  instead  of  urging  us  to  covet  more ; — the 
sweet  flower  on  whose  breath  our  souls  are  enabled  more  con- 
tinually to  ascend  to  God,  and  whose  petals,  seemingly  so  frail 
and  tender,  have  yet  more  power  to  guard  us  from  temptation 
and  presum])tion  than  an  unsheathed  sword.  Let  us  not  pause 
till  it  is  found  and  worn  ;  and  if  it  make  us  invisible  as  itself, 
save  to  those  who  seek  and  value  us,  it  will  shed  around  us  an 
atmosphere  of  love  and  peace  and  joy,  with  which  no  other 
flower  can  vie  ;  and  in  death,  as  in  life,  we  shall  bless  God  for 
ts  possession,  as  for  the  dearest  gift  He  has  vouchsafed. 

Would  I  then,  some  may  exclaim,  deny  all  privileges  to 
Women — refuse  to  acknowledge  their  equality  with  man — de- 


PERIOD      I. EVE.  43 

grade  them  as  the  Jewish  reHgion  is  falsely  accused  of  doing  ? 
No !  for  in  the  sight  of  God,  in  their  spiritual  privileges,  in 
their  pecuhar  gifts  and  endowments,  the  power  of  perfoi'uiing 
their  duties  in  their  own  sphere,  in  their  responsibilitT/,  they  are 
on  a  perfect  equality  with  man.  But  I  would  conjure  them  to 
seek  humility,  simply  from  its  magic  power  of  keeping  woman 
in  her  own  beautiful  sphere,  without  one  wish,  one  ambitious 
whisj)er,  to  exchange  it  for  another.  While  tlere,  while  satisfied 
and  rejoicing  in  the  infinite  love  and  wisdom  which  placed  us 
there,  we  are  not  only  in  the  privileges  enumerated  above,  man's 
equal, — but  however  in  strength  of  frame,  immense  capability 
of  physical  and  mental  exertion,  in  might  and  grasp  of  intellect, 
his  inferior ;  yet  in  the  depth  and  faithfulness  of  love,  in  the 
capabihty  of  feeling  and  enduring,  in  devotedness  and  fortitude 
— alike  in  bodily  and  mental  trial — we  are  unanswerably  his 
superior.  Then  has  not  woman  enough  to  call  for  gratitude  ? 
Endowed  with  influence  over  the  heart  of  man, — oh !  let  her 
remember  for  what  fearful  end  Eve  used  that  influence,  and  keep 
a  constant  guard  of  watchfulness  and  prayer  over  her  heart  to 
preserve  her  from  its  similar  abuse.  Let  her  remember  the 
employments  of  Eve  in  Eden,  and  so  cultivate  her  intellectual 
faculties  in  the  study  of  God  and  nature,  both  animate  and 
inanimate,  that  her  mind  may  be  strengthened,  and  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  beauties  of  creation,  she  may  learn  the  true 
value  of  the  beauty  which  may  be  hers.  How  small  is  its 
relative  proportion,  and  yet  how  blessedly  it  may  be  used,  even 
as  the  beauty  of  creation,  for  the  glory  of  God,  in  its  mild,  sooth- 
ing, and  benignant  influence  upon  His  creatures  ! 

Above  all,  let  the  history  of  Eve  impress  this  truth  upon  the 
hearts  of  her  young  descendants — that  however  weak  and  faulty 
and  abased,  however  sorrowing  and  bereaved,  however  reaping 
in  tears  the  effects  of  indiscretion  or  graver  error, — yet  stil  the 
compassion,  the  long  suffering,  the  exhaustless  love  of  tneir 
Father  in  Heaven  is  theirs  ;  that  no  circumstance  in  life  can 
deprive  them  of  that  love,  can  throw  a  barrier  between  woman's 
yearning  heart  and  the  healing  compassion  of  her  God.  No; 
not  even  departure  from  Him,  neglect,  forgetfulness,  will  make 
Him  forget  or  cease  to  compassionate,  if  she  will  but  return  in 
true  repentance,  and  clinging  faithfulness  to  his  deep  love  once 
more.  We  cannot  measure  that  exhaustless  fount — for  as  high 
as  the  heaven  from  the  earth,  so  great  is  its  extent.     We  cannot 


-44  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL 

weary  that  never-ceasing  mercy — for  as  far  as  the  East  is  from 
the  West,  so  far,  when  we  return  to  Him,  doth  He  remove  our 
transgressions  from  us.  And  will  woman — whose  whole  exist- 
ence still  is  love — neglect  or  despise  these  thrice-blessed  privi- 
leges ;  will  the  exile,  the  despised,  the  persecuted — for  such 
has  been,  and  is,  the  woman  of  Israel — will  she  not  receive  with 
grateful  adoration  the  love  vouchsafed,  and  come  and  make 
manifest  the  Sustainer,  the  Comforter,  the  Mainspring  of  her 
being?  To  woman  of  every  creed,  of  every  race,. of  every  rank 
— life,  though  it  may  seem  blessed,  is  a  fearful  desert  without 
God.  What  then,  without  Him,  is  it  to  the  woman  of  Israel, 
the  exile  and  the  mourner,  who  hath  no  land,  no  hope,  no  com- 
forter but  Him  ? 


CHAPTER  n. 


SARAH 


So  varied  and  so  important  are  the  incidents  comprised  in 
the  life  of  Eve,  that,  on  a  mere  superficial  view,  Sarah's  biogra- 
phy appears  somewhat  deficient  in  interest.  Yet,  as  the  beloved 
partner  of  Abraham,  she  ought  to  be  a  subject  of  reverence  and 
love  to  her  female  descendants ;  and  we  will  endeavor  to  bring 
her  history  forward,  that  such  she  may  become.  Much  of  the 
Eternal's  love  and  pity  towards  His  female  children  is  mani- 
fested in  her  simple  life,  and  also  in  the  life  of  her  bondwoman, 
Hagar,  which  is  too  closely  interwoven  with  hers  to  be 
omitted. 

The  real  relationship  between  Abraham  and  Sarah,  before 
marriage,  has  never  yet  been  clearly  or  satisfactorily  solved ; 
some  commentators  asserting  she  was  his  niece,  the  daughter 
of  Haran  his  eldei-  brother ;  and  others,  that  she  was,  as  Abra- 
ham himself  declares,  his  half-sister — "She  is  the  daughter  of 
my  father,  but  not  the  daughter  of  my  mother,  and  she  became 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  45 

my  Avife."  We  believe  the  latter  assertion  much  more  likely 
to  be  the  correct  one,  because,  in  the  first  place,  there  is  no 
foundation  whatever  for  the  idea  that  she  was  Haran's  dauo'hter, 
except  the  supposition  that  Iscah  means  Sarah  (Gen.  xi.  29) ; 
and,  in  the  second,  it  is  not  probable  that  when  ouestioned  by 
Abimelech,  Abraham  would  have  condescended  to  utter  a  false- 
hood. The  Bible  mentions  Lot  only  as  the  child  of  Haran ; 
and  Abraham  himself  says,  Sarah  was  his  half-sister.  The 
latter  relationship,  as  preventing  marriage,  is  no  proof  in  favor 
of  her  being  his  niece,  as  no  laws  of  marriage  had  yet  been 
issued ;  and  in  the  early  stages  of  the  world,  such  connexions 
were  not  considered  sin. 

Leaving  this  difficult  decision  to  more  curious  speculators,  we 
will  proceed  to  subjects  of  greater  interest.  The  first  notice  we 
have  of  Sarai  is  her  accompanying  her  husband  and  Lot  from 
the  home  of  her  kindred  to  a  strange  country,  among  all 
strange  people,  in  simple  obedience  to  the  word  of  God.  Holy 
writ  is  silent  on  the  youth  of  Abram ;  but  it  is  the  opinion  of 
our  ancient  fathers,  that  his  earnest  desire  after  divine  know- 
ledge— his  pure  and  holy  life — his  affectionate  and  virtuous 
conduct,  attracted  towards  him  the  blessing  of  the  Lord,  and 
caused  hira  to  be  selected  as  the  promulgator  of  the  Divine 
Revelation.  That  Abram  was  exposed  to  many  dangers  on 
account  of  his  loving  obedience  to  the  one  sole  invisible  God, 
instead  of  acknowledging  the  idols  of  his  race,  is  indeed  very 
possible,  and  probably  originated  the  first  removal  of  his  family 
to  Charran,  where  also  his  father  accompanied  him.  At  Char- 
ran  they  seem  to  have  dwelt  in  peace  and  prosperity,  secured 
from  former  persecutors,  so  that  it  must  have  been  no  little  trial 
to  go  forth  again,  more  particularly  without  any  definite  cause 
for  the  removal. 

To  Sarai  the  trial  must  have  been  more  severe  than  to  her 
husband.  She  was  to  go  forth  with  hira  indeed;  but  it  is 
woman's  peculiar  nature  to  cling  to  home,  home  ties,  and  home 
affections — to  shrink  from  encountering  a  strange  world,  teem- 
ing with  unknown  trials  and  dangers.  Rather  than  the  parting 
from  a  husband,  indeed,  all  other  partings  may  seem  light ;  but 
yet  they  are  trials  to  a  gentle  woman  :  and  the  heart  that  can 
leave  the  home  and  friends  of  a  happy  youth — the  associations 
of  years — without  regret,  proves  not  that  its  affections  are  so 
centred  on  one  object  as  to  eschew  all  others ;  but  that  it  is 


46  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

too  often  wrapped  in  a  chilling  indifference,  which  prevents 
strong  emotions  on  any  subject  whatever.  We  have  enough 
of  Sarai  in  the  Bible  to  satisfy  us  that  such  is  not  her  charac- 
ter. 

One  cause  for  the  love  of  home  ties  and  associations,  in  the 
heart  of  a  right-feeling  woman,  originates  in  the  behef  that 
there  she  can  do  so  much  more  good  than  elsewhere — that, 
unfitted  bv  the  weakness  and  infirmities  of  her  frame  from  active 
toil,  and  the  pursuit  of  goodly  service,  as  falls  to  the  lot  of 
man,  she  can  yet  benefit  her  friends,  children,  and  domestics,  in 
the  hallowed  circle  of  home ;  and  better  manifest  the  blessings 
of  the  Lord  and  the  love  she  bears  Him,  there  than  amongst 
strangers.  And  this  was  especially  the  case  with  Sarai.  By 
one  of  our  ancient  fathers  it  is  said,  that  as  Abram  and  Lot 
were  permitted  to  turn  many  of  their  own  sex  from  idolatry  to 
the  knowledge  of  the  one  true  God,  so  also  was  Sarai  granted 
the  hallowed  privilege  of  leading  many  of  her  female  friends 
and  domestics  to  the  same  blessed  Fount.  It  was  therefore,  no 
doubt,  a  source  of  questioning  and  wonder  in  her  mind,  why 
the  Eternal's  mandate  to  go  forth  should  be  given.  She  had 
not  even  experience  in  the  Eternal's  glorious  attributes,  as  dis- 
played in  His  dealings  with  His  creatures,  and  through  His 
word,  to  comfort  and  be  her  guide.  All  was  mental  darkness 
in  the  world  around  her,  except  her  husband  and  those  few 
whom  he  had  been  enabled  to  teach  a  partial  knowledge  of  his 
God.  They  stood  alone  in  their  peculiar  faith  ;  and  how  often, 
in  such  a  case,  do  doubts  and  fears  enter  the  breast  of  woman  ! 
Yet  it  was  enough  that  her  husband  prepared  without  question 
or  hesitation  to  obey  his  God — to  leave  his  aged  father,  his 
kindred,  and  his  friends  ;  and,  with  simple  and  loving  ftiith,  she 
went  with  him  where  the  Lord  should  lead.  Well  is  it  for  us 
when  we  can  do  so  likewise  ;  when,  in  some  of  those  bitterest 
trials  that  woman's  heart  can  know,  the  change  of  home  or 
land,  be  it  with  our  parents,  or,  husband,  or  more  fearful  still, 
alone,  we  can  yet  so  stay  upon  our  God  that  we  can  realize  His 
presence.  His  loving  mercy  directing  our  weary  way,  and  resting 
with  us  stijl.  His  direct  communing  by  voice  or  sign,  or 
through  angelic  messengers,  is  indeed  no  longer  ours ;  but 
those  that  seek  to  love  and  serve  Him  may  yet  hear  His  still 
small  voice  breathing  in  the  solemn  whisper  of  their  own  hearts, 
and  through  the  individual  promises  of  His  word. 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  47 

Accompanied  by  Lot  and  their  household — expressed  in  the 
term,  "  the  souls  they  had  gotten  in  Charran,"  Avho  were  pro- 
bably those  whom  they  had  instructed  in  the  true  faith — and 
carrying  with  them  the  substance  they  possessed,  Abrara  and 
Sarai  "  went  forth  into  the  land  of  Canaan,"  which  was  inha- 
bited by  a  tierce  people,  and  gave  little  hope  of  ever  being 
possessed  by  the  patriarch  and  his  family,  for  by  their  constant 
journeyings  it  would  seem  as  if  they  could  not  even  obtain 
sufficient  land  to  fix  their  home.  Yet,  there  again  the  Lord 
appeared  to  the  patriarch  and  renewed  His  promise — thus 
proving  His  tender  compassion  for  the  human  weakness  of  His 
creatures,  and  encouraging  their  faith,  when,  without  such 
encouragement.  He  knew  it  must  have  failed.  To  add  to  their 
numerous  human  discomforts  and  trials,  a  famine  broke  out  in 
the  land,  so  severe  and  grievous  that  Abrara  sought  the  land  oi 
Egypt ;  and  there,  rendered  fearful  by  the  exceeding  beauty  of 
his  wife,  and  the  supposed  barbarity  of  the  land,  he  bade  Sars^; 
call  herself  his  sister,  not  his  wife. 

In  this  first  deception,  however,  Abram  was  much  more  to  \y* 
excused  than  in  the  second.  He  had  not  yet  had  all  the  con 
vincing  proofs  of  the  Eternal's  tender  watchfulness  and  care,  .*»? 
he  had  afterwards.  He  had  gone  to  Egypt  without  the  express 
command  of  the  Lord,  and  this  very  fact,  to  one  accustomed  tf 
divine  guidance,  and  not  yet  perhaps  feeling  himself  sufficiently 
strong  spiritually  to  go  alone,  rendered  him  more  fearful  thar 
he  would  otherwise  have  been.  He  might  also  have  thought, 
that  as  he  was  destined  for  a  great  end,  it  was  his  duty  to  use 
any  means  to  preserve  the  life  so  appointed,  without  sufficiently 
considering  that  life  and  death  were  equally  in  the  hands  of  th^ 
Eternal,  and  that  He  would  preserve  His  servant  alive,  withoui 
the  intervention  of  human  means.  Spiritual  advancement 
requires  effort,  perseverance,  and  experience,  as  well  as  every 
other;  and  Abram  himself,  though  the  elect  of  the  Eternal^ 
could  not  obtain  perfection  and  firmness  in  faith  without  some 
human  tremblings,  which  it  is  enough  for  us  to  know,  were 
overruled,  compassionated,  and  forgiven.  We  perceive  by  the 
sacred  narrative,  that  his  intention  was  frustrated,  and  his  words 
caused  the  very  evil  he  dreaded  ; — which  is  sufficient  warning 
for  us  to  avoid  all  departure  from  the  straight  line  of  truth — ■ 
while  the  continued  care  and  favor  of  the  Lord  should  check 
our  presumptuous  condemnation,  and  remind  us,  that  if  His 


48  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

justice  and  mercy  thought  proper  to  overrule  and  forgive,  and 
continue,  nay  increase.  His  long  tenderness  towards  Abram  and 
his  family,  it  is  our  part,  instead  of  marvelling,  to  thank  God 
that  such  weakness  is  recorded,  that  we  may  not  feel  it  is  human 
perfection  alone  which  calls  down  His  blessing,  and  so  shrink 
back  in  terror  and  despair. 

This  part  of  Sarai's  history  gives  us  information  generally 
very  interesting  to  young  female  readers — that  she  was  very 
beautiful.  We  are  wont  to  imagine  that  the  charms  of  sixty- 
five  could  not  be  very  remarkable  ;  but  reckoning  according  to 
the  age  to  which  mortals  then  lived,  she  was  not  older  than  a 
woman  of  thirty  or  five-and-thirty  would  be  now,  consequently 
in  her  prime  ;  endowed,  as  her  history  gives  us  authority  to 
suppose,  with  a  quiet,  retiring  dignity,  which  greatly  enhanced 
h^r  beauty,  and  rendered  it  yet  more  interesting  than  that  of 
girlhood. 

Protected  from  this  danger,  his  substance  greatly  increased  by 
Pharaoh's  gifts,  Abram,  his  wife,  and  household,  retraced  their 
steps  to  where  "  his  tent  had  been  at  first,  between  Bethel  and 
Hai."  The  altar  which  he  had  originally  erected  was  still 
there,  and  again  he  and  his  family  "  called  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord."  The  command  of  Pharaoh — "  Go  thy  way,"  was  most 
probably  regarded  and  acted  on  hy  the  patriarch  as  a  warning, 
that  his  safest  and  most  hallowed  home  was  in  the  land  to  which 
the  Lord  had  originally  guided  him. 

In  the  events  which  follow — the  separation  of  Abram  and  Lot 
— the  battle  of  the  kings — the  imprisonment  and  rescue  of 
Lot — the  blessing  of  Melchisedek — Holy  Writ  makes  no  men- 
lion  of  Sarai.  She  was  performing  those  duties  of  an  affec- 
tionate wife  and  gentle  mistress  of  her  husband's  immense 
establishment,  which  are  nothing  to  write  about,  but  which 
make  up  the  sum  of  woman's  life,  create  her  dearest  and  purest 
sources  of  happiness,  and  bring  her  acceptably  before  God.  Her 
home  was  still  an  unsettled  one.  The  Lord  had  again  appeared 
to  renew  His  promises  to  Abram — comforting  him  in  the 
sorrow  which  Lot's  choice  of  a  dwelling  in  the  sinful  Sodom  had 
occasioned  him,  by  the  assurance  that  all  the  land  which  he  saw, 
northward  and  southward,  eastward  and  westward,  would  He 
give  unto  him  and  to  his  seed,  and  his  seed's  seed  for  ever. 
That  he  was  to  "  Arise,  and  walk  through  the  land,  in  the 
breadth  of  it  and  in  the  length  of  it,  for  I  will  give  it  unto 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  49 

thee,"  In  consequence  of  which,  the  tent  of  the  patriarch  was 
removed  southward,  to  Mamre  in  Hebron,  and  an  akar  built,  at 
once  to  claim  the  hxnd  in  the  name  of  the  Lord,  and  give  to 
Abram  and  his  household  a  place  where  to  worship.  The 
extent  of  the  patriarch's  household  may  be  imagined  by  the 
fact,  that  at  his  word,  no  less  than  three  hundred  and  eis'hteen 
servants,  born  in  his  house  and  trained  to  arms,  accompanied 
him  to  the  rescue  of  his  nephew.  Those  who  were  left  to 
attend  to  his  flocks  and  herds,  which  he  possessed  in  great 
numbers,  must  have  been  in  equal  proportion  ;  and  over  these, 
during  his  absence,  Sarai,  assisted  by  the  steward,  had  unlimited 
dominion. 

The  beautiful  confidence  and  true  affection  subsisting  between 
Abram  and  Sarai,  marks  unanswerably  their  equality  ;  that  his 
wife  was  to  Abram  friend  as  well  as  partner;  and  yet,  that 
Sarai  knew  perfectly  her  own  station,  and  never  attempted  to 
push  herself  forward  in  unseemly  counsel,  or  use  the  influence 
which  she  so  largely  possessed  for  any  weak  or  sinful  purpose. 
Some,  however,  would  have  found  it  difficult  to  preserve  their 
humility  and  meekness,  situated  as  was  Sarai.  A  coarser  and 
narrower  mind  would  have  prided  herself  on  the  promises  made 
her  husband,  imagining  there  must  be  some  superlative  merit, 
either  in  herself  or  Abram,  to  be  so  singled  out  by  the  Eternal. 
There  is  no  pride  so  dangerous  and  subtle  as  spiritual  pride,  no 
sin  more  likely  to  gain  dominion  in  the  early  stages  of  religion 
— none  so  disguised,  and  so  difficult  to  be  discovered  and 
rooted  out.  But  in  Sarai  there  was  none  of  this  ;  not  a  particle 
of  pride,  even  at  a  time  when,  of  all  others,  she  might  have  been 
almost  justified  in  feeling  it.  She  was,  indeed,  blessed  in  a 
husband  whose  exalted,  yet  domestic  and  affectionate  character, 
must  ever  have  strengthened,  guided,  and  cherished  hers ;  but 
it  is  not  always  the  most  blessed  and  distinguished  woman  who 
attends  the  most  faithfully  to  her  domestic  duties,  and  preserves 
unharmed  and  untainted  that  meekness  and  integrity  which  is 
her  greatest  charm. 

Abram's  warlike  expedition  was  the  only  one  in  which  his 
■wife  did  not  accompany  him.  With  what  joy  she  must  have 
welcomed  her  warrior  lord  !  How  gratefully  must  her  loving 
heart  have  delighted  to  ponder  on  his  magnanimity,  in  going 
instantly  to  the  rescue  of  his  weak  and  little  grateful  nephew  ; — 
on  his  courage — his  success  ;  and  yet  more  on  his  noble  refusal 


50  THE      "WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

of  af.  gifts  from  the  king  of  Sodom,  lest  the  glor}"-  should  be  taken 
from  the  Lord,  and  any  mortal  should  say,  "  I  have  made 
Abram  rich."  We  dwell  with  delight  on  the  stirring  records  of 
chivalry  ;  and  it  is  right  we  should  do  so,  for  the  study  of  all 
honorable,  unselfish,  and  unworldly  deeds  must  do  us  good  ; 
but  where  shall  we  find,  in  the  whole  history  of  chivalry,  an 
instance  of  such  perfect  nobility  and  magnanimity,  unstained  by 
one  action  from  which  mind  or  heart  could  revolt,  as  in  the  only 
warlike  expedition  of  Abram  ?  It  was  indeed  enough  for  a 
woman  to  glory  in :  and,  though  nothing  is  said,  for  the  record 
of  Moses  is  too  important  to  descend  to  the  thoughts  and  feel- 
ings of  woman,  we  may  well  imagine  the  grateful  and  rejoicing 
feelings  of  Sarai,  as  she  welcomed  her  husband  home — foro-et- 
ting  all  the  pangs  of  parting  and  loneliness  of  separation,  in  the 
ti'iumph  and  delight  of  such  a  meeting. 

It  was  after  these  things,  that  we  have  the  first  allusion  to 
the  patriarch's  being  childless.  And  by  the  words  it  which  the 
Lord  addressed  him — "  Fear  not,  Abram,  I  am  thy  shield,  and 
exceeding  great  reward,"  we  are  led  to  suppose  that  some 
anxious  thoughts,  and  perhaps  doubts,  natural  to  humanity, 
were  occupying  his  mind.  We,  weak  and  frail  as  himself, 
might  exclaim.  What,  still  doubling,  still  fearing,  when  he  has 
had  so  many  proofs  of  the  Eternal's  providence  and  care  !  But 
God,  whose  "  thoughts  are  not  as  our  thoughts,"  instead  of 
reproving,  addresses  him  in  terms  of  the  tenderest  love  and 
encouragement,  for  He  knew  the  nature  of  His  creatures,  and 
that  fciith  could  not  be  perfectly  attained  without  years  of 
watchfulness  and  prayer ;  that  if  it  were,  man  would  cease  to 
be  man,  and  this  life  be  no  longer  what  it  was  intended — a  life 
of  trial.  Abram's  instant  reply  reveals  the  painful  thoughts 
which  had  engrossed  him  : — "  Lord  God,  what  wilt  thou  give 
me  ?  seeing  I  go  childless,  and  the  steward  of  my  house  is  this 
Eliezer  of  Damascus.  Behold,  to  me  thou  hast  given  no  seed, 
and  lo,  one  born  in  my  house  is  mine  heir."  God  had  promised 
that  the  land  should  be  his  and  his  seed's,  but  Abram  in  soirow 
beheld  years  pass,  and  still  he  had  no  child.  Sarai  had  lono- 
passed  the  age  when,  humanly  speaking,  she  could  be  a  mother. 
It  was  much  more  natural — truly  pious  and  faithful  as  he  was 
— that  Abram  should  be  harassed  with  contradictory  fears  and 
doubts,  than  that  he  should  have  had  none.  God  had  promised, 
but  how  was  that  promise  to  be  fulfilled "? — unless,  indeed,  not 


PERIOD      I. SAUAH.  51 

his  own  child,  but  "  one  born  in  his  house"  was  to  be  his  destined 
heir.  This  appeared  perhaps  the  most  probable,  though  it  was 
painfully  disappointing  ;  and  to  soothe  this  fear  and  remove  it, 
the  Lord  addressed  him  as  we  have  said.  The  gracious  and 
most  blessed  promise  directly  followed — that  not  one  born  in 
his  house,  but  his  own  son  should  be  his  heir ;  and,  bidding  him 
look  up  at  the  stars — as  countless  and  numberless  they  gemmed 
the  clear,  bright  heavens — promised,  that  "so  should  his  seed 
be."  And  then  it  was,  that — all  of  doubt  and  mist  and  fear 
dissolving  in  the  heart  of  the  patriarch,  before  the  words  of  the 
Lord,  as  snow  before  the  sun — he  believed  .  and  that  pure 
FAITH  was  accounted  to  him  as  righteousness.  How  blessed 
are  those  words  !.  Li  every  station  of  life,  however  tried,  and 
sad,  and  mourning,  and  deprived  of  all  power  to  serve  the  Lord 
as  our  hearts  dictate,  we  may  yet  believe,  and  Faith  is  still 
accounted  righteousness. 

On  the  glorious  prophetic  vision  which  followed  when  the  sun 
went  down,  we  may  not  linger,  as  it  will  take  us  too  far  from 
the  subject  of  our  narrative. 

Great  must  have  been  Sarai's  joy  when  this  gracious  promise 
was  made  known  to  her.  If  to  Abram  the  being  childless  was 
a  source  of  deep  regret,  it  must  have  been  still  more  so  to  her. 
Loving  and  domestic,  as  her  whole  history  proves  she  was,  how 
often  may  she  have  yearned  to  list  the  welcome  cry  of  infancy  ; 
to  feel  one  being  look  up  to  her  for  protection  and  love,  and 
call  her  by  that  sweet  name — Mother.  But  this  joyful  antici- 
pation could  only  have  been  of  short  duration.  Sarai,  as  is 
woman's  nature,  in  all  probability  imagined  the  fulfilment 
wo'ild  immediately  follow  the  jn-omise.  The  most  difficult  of 
all  our  spiritual  attainments  is  to  wait  for  the  Lord  :  to  believe 
still,  through  long  months,  perhaps  years,  of  anticipation  and 
disappointment,  that  as  He  has  said  it,  so  it  ivill  be,  so  it  micst  be, 
though  our  finite  wisdom  cannot  pronounce  the  when.  Did  the 
Eternal  fulfil  His  gracious  promises  on  the  instant,  where  would 
be  the  trial  of  our  faith,  and  of  our  confidence  and  constancy  in 
prayer  ? 

Finding  still  there  was  no  appearance  of  her  becoming  a 
mother,  we  are  led  to  sup])ose,  by  the  events  which  follow,  that 
all  Sarai's  joyous  anticipations  turned  into  gloomy  fears,  not 
merely  from  the  belief  that  she  herself  would  not  be  blessed 
with  a  child,  but  that  Abram  might,  as  was  and  is  the  custom 


52  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

of  Eastern  nations,  take  another  wife  ;  an  idea  excited,  perhaps, 
by  the  recollection  that  her  name  had  not  been  mentioned  as 
the  destined  mother  of  the  promised  seed,  but  precisely  the 
most  painful  which  could  find  entrance  in  a  heart  afiectionate 
and  faithful  as  her  own.  To  prevent  this  misfortune,  and  yet 
to  further  (as  she  supposed)  the  will  of  the  Eternal,  Sarai  had 
recourse  to  human  means. 

All  women  in  her  position,  and  influenced  as  she  was  by  the 
manners  and  customs  of  the  East,  would  have  both  felt  and 
acted  as  she  did,  but  few,  we  think,  would  have  waited  so  long. 
It  was  ten  years  after  Abram  had  left  Egypt  to  fix  his  residence 
in  Canaan,  before  Hagar  became  his  wife.  The  separation 
of  himself  and  Lot  appears  to  have  taken  ^:)lace  in  the  first 
year  after  their  settlement  in  Canaan,  the  expedition  against  the 
kings  in  the  second  or  third  year  following.  And  we  are 
expressly  told,  that  it  was  soon  after  these  occurrences  that  the 
Lord  appeared  unto  the  patriarch,  and  promised  him  an  heir  in 
his  own  child  ;  the  Hebrew  word,  in;*  (after),  signifying,  accord- 
ing to  Rashi,  that  the  event  about  to  be  related  took  place  soon  after 
the  pei'iod  of  the  former  narration;  but  when  a  loncj  inriod  has 
intervened,  the  expression  ^i^int*  is  used.* 

According  to  this  reckoning,  then,  full  five,  or  at  the  veiy 
least  three,  years  must  have  elapsed  between  the  promise  made 
to  Abram  and  his  taking  Hagar,  at  Sarai's  own  request,  to  be 
his  wife ;  and  few  women  would  have  beheld  year  after  year 
pass,  each  year  increa.sing  the  improbability  of  her  becoming  a 
mother,  and  yet  so  believed  as  to  adopt  no  human  means  for 
the  furtherance  of  her  wishes.  In  perusing  and  _reflectmg  on 
the  blessings  promised,  and  revelations  made  to  the  favored 
servants  of  the  Loi'd,  we  are  apt  to  suppose  that  their  lives  were 
preserved  from  all  trouble,  all  trial  of  delaj^  from  the  fearful 
sickness  of  anticipation  disappointed,  and  hope  deferred;  whereas, 
a  more  intimate  study  of  the  holy  Scriptures  would  convince  us, 
that  though  indeed  most  spiritually  blessed,  their  mortal  lives 
were  not  more  exempt  from  labor,  and  all  the  sorrows  proceed- 
ing from  human  emotions,  than  our  own.  We  only  see  those 
periods  on  which  the  broad  light  of  sunshine  falls.     The  darker  . 

*  See  "  The  Sacred  Scriptures,  Hebrew  and  English,"  translated  by 
the  Rev.  D.  A.  De  Sola,  &c.     Note  to  verse  1  of  chap.  xvi. 


PERIOD       I. SARAH.  53 

shades  of  human  doubt,  the  often  supposed  bhghting  of  hope, 
the  struggles  and  terrors  of  the  spirit  alternating  with  the  rest 
and  contideuce  which  it  sometimes  enjoys  ;  these  we  see  not, 
and,  therefore,  pronounce  them  unknown  to  our  forefathers  ; 
whereas,  did  we  examine  more  closely,  we  should  not  find 
severer  trials  in  our  own  lives  than  in  theirs  :  nor  cease  to 
believe,  for  a  single  moment,  that  the  God  who  guided  them 
through  the  dark  shadows  of  human  trials,  and  strengthened 
them  with  the  light  of  His  jjresence,  does  not  equally  guide 
and  reveal  Himself  to  us. 

The  first  human  evidence  that  Sarai's  scheme  would  be  pro- 
ductive of  vexation  and  sorrow,  as  well  as  of  joy,  was  her 
disappointment  with  regard  to  Hagar's  continued  humility  and 
submission.  Forgetful  that  it  was  to  her  mistress,  humanly 
speaking,  she  owed  the  privileges  now  hers,  the  Egyptian  so  far 
forgot  herself,  as  to  feel  and  make  manifest  that  Sarai  "was 
despised  in  her  eyes."  Alas,  how  mournfully  does  that  brief 
sentence  breathe  of  woman's  fallen  nature  !  How  apt  are  we  to 
exalt  ouiselves  for  imaginary  superiority — to  look  down  on  those 
who  have  served  us,  when  God  has  bestowed  on  us  privileges 
of  which  they  are  deprived.  We  forget,  often  through  thought- 
lessness, that  those  very  things  of  which  we  are  so  proud,  come 
not  from  ourselves,  but  from  Him  who  might  equally  have 
vouchsafed  them  to  others.  We  may  not  indeed  have  the  same 
imtement  to  pride  and  presumption  as  Hagar,  but  have  we 
never  despised  others  for  the  want  of  those  accomplishments, 
those  advantages,  that  beauty,  and  other  gifts  from  God,  which 
'■we  ourselves  may  possess  ?  Aye,  sometimes,  though  we  trust 
such  emotions  are  rare  as  they  are  sad,  the  parents  who  have 
toiled  and  labored  to  give  us  advantages  of  dress  and  education 
far  above  what  they  possessed  themselves — the  elder  sister,  who 
is  contented  and  rejoiced  to  remain  in  the  background,  that 
younger  and  fairer  ones,  whom  she  loves  with  almost  a  mother's 
love,  may  come  forward — the  homely  and  older-fiishioned  aunt, 
to  whom,  perhaps,  a  sister's  orphan  family  owe  their  all — these 
are  the  beings  whom  the  young  and  thoughtless  but  too  often 
secretly  despise,  as  if  their  superior  advantages  had  come  from 
themselves,  not  from  God,  through  loving  relatives  and  friends. 

And  this  was  the  case  with  Hagar.  A  superficial  reading  of 
the  Bible  often  causes  Sarai  to  be  most  unjustly  blamed  for  undue 
harshness.     We  think  only  of  Hagar's  wanderings  in  the  wilder- 


54  THE     WOMEN      OF     ISRAEL. 

ness,  and  pity  her  as  cruelly  treated,  and  suppose,  that  as  the 
Most  High  relieved  her  through  His  angel,  she  had  never  been 
in  any  way  to  blame.  Now,  though  to  sympathize  with  the 
sorrowing  and  afflicted  be  one  of  our  purest  and  best  feelings,  it 
must  not  so  blind  us  as  to  prevent  our  doing  justice  to  the  intlic- 
tor  of  that  affliction.  We  candidly  avow,  that  until  lately  we  too 
thought  Sarai  harsh  and  unjust,  and  rather  turned  from  than 
admired  her  character :  but  we  have  seen  the  injustice  of 
this  decision,  and,  therefore,  without  the  smallest  remaining  pre- 
judice, retract  it  altogether  :  retract  it,  simply  because  the  words 
of  the  angel  are  quite  sufficient  proof  that  Hagar  had  been  tcrong, 
and  Sarai's  chastisement /ms<,  or  he  would  not  have  commanded 
her,  as  Sarai's  bondwoman,  to  return  and  submit  herself  to  her 
mistress's  power,  without  any  reservation  whatever. 

It  must  indeed  have  been  a  bitterly  painful  disappointment  to 
Sarai,  that  instead  of  receiving  increased  gratitude  and  affection 
from  one  whom  she  had  so  raised  and  cherished,  she  was  despised 
with  an  insolence  that,  unless  checked,  might  bring  discord  and 
misery  in  a  household  which  had  before  been  so  blessed  with 
peace  and  love.  Sarai's  was  not  a  character  to  submit  tamely  to 
ingratitude.  There  was  neither  coldness  nor  indifference  about 
her.  In  no  part  of  the  Bible,  either  in  character  or  precept,  do 
we  perceive  the  necessity  or  the  merit  of  that  species  of  cold 
inditference,  which  is  by  some  well-meaning  religious  persons 
supposed  to  be  the  self-control  and  pious  forgiveness  of  injuries 
most  acceptable  to  God.  The  Patriarchal  and  Jewish  history 
alike  prove,  that  natural  feelings  were  not  to  be  trampled  upon. 
The  Hebrew  code  was  formed  by  a  God  of  love  for  the  nature  of 
man,  not  angels — formed  so  as  to  be  obeyed,  not  to  be  laid  aside 
as  impracticable.  The  passions  and  feehngs  of  the  East  were 
very  different  to  those  of  the  calmer  and  colder  North  ;  and 
nowhere  in  Holy  Writ  are  we  told  that  those  feelings  and  emotions 
must  be  annihilated.  Subdued  and  guided .\ndiQe,(!i,  as  must  be 
the  consequence  of  a  true  and  strict  adherence  to  the  law  of  God, 
and  impartial  study  of  His  word  ;  but  in  the  sight  of  a  God  of 
love,  inditference  can  never  be,  and  never  was,  religion. 

Yet  even  this,  an  affair  of  feeling  entirely  between  herself  and 
Hagar,  could  not  urge  Sarai  to  any  line  of  conduct  unauthorized 
by  her  husband.  Naturally  indignant,  she  complained  to  him, 
perhaps,  too,  with  some  secret  fear  that  Hagar,  favored  so  much 
above  herself  by  the  hope  of  her  giving  him  a  son,  might  be 


PERIOD       I.  —  SARAH.  55 

unduly  justified  and  protected.  But  it  was  not  so.  Abram's 
answer  at  once  convinced  her  that  Hai^ar  had  not  taken  her  place ; 
nay,  that  though  Abram  could  not  do  otherwise  than  feel  tender- 
ness and  kinchiess  towards  her,  he  at  once  recognised  Sarai's 
supremacy,  both  as  his  wife  and  Hagar's  mistress,  and  bade  her 
"  do  with  her  what  seeraeth  good  to  thee."  We  have  so  many 
proofs  of  Abram's  just,  affectionate,  and  forgiving  character,  that 
we  may  fully  believe  he  would  never  have  said  this,  if  he  had 
not  been  convinced  that  it  was  no  unjust  accusation  on  the  part 
of  Sarai.  He  knew,  too,  that  she  was  not  likely  to  inflict  moie 
punishment  than  was  deserved,  particularly  on  a  favorite  slave ; 
and,  therefore,  it  was  with  his  full  consent  "  Sarai  afflicted  her, 
and  she  tied  from  her  presence." 

Whatever  the  nature  of  this  affliction,  it  could  not  have  been 
very  severe — neither  pain  nor  restraint — for  Hagar  had  the 
power  to  fl}^  Reproof  to  an  irritable  and  disdainful  mind  is  often 
felt  as  intolerable,  and  given  too,  as  it  no  doubt  was,  with 
severity,  and  at  a  time  when  Hagar  felt  exalted  and  superior  to 
all  around  her,  even  to  her  mistress,  her  proud  spirit  urged  flight 
instead  of  submission,  and  not  till  addressed  by  the  voice  of  the 
angel  did  those  rebellious  feelings  subside. 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  angelic  voice,  and  his  first  words 
destroyed  the  proud  dreams  which  she  had  indulged.  "  Hagar, 
Sarai's  bondwoman  !"  he  said,  and  the  term  told  her  in  the  sight 
of  God  she  was  still  the  same,  "  whence  earnest  thou,  and 
whither  art  thou  going  ?"  It  was  not  because  he  knew  not 
that  he  thus  spoke.  The  messengers  of  the  Lord  need  no 
enlightenment  on  the  affairs  of  men,  but  their  questions  are 
adapted  to  the  nature  of  men,  to  awaken  them  to  consciousness, 
to  still  the  tumult  of  human  passion,  and  by  clear  and  simple 
questioning  compel  a  clear  and  true  reply.  Had  his  command 
to  return  been  given  without  preparation,  Hagar's  obedience 
would  have  been  the  eftect  of  fear,  not  conviction.  But  those 
simple  questions,  "  whence  camest  thou  ?  whither  art  thou  going  ?" 
startled  her  from  the  tumultuous  emotions  of  rebellion  and  pre- 
sumption. Whence  had  she  come  ?  From  a  happy,  loving 
home,  where  she  had  been  the  favorite  of  an  indulgent  and 
gentle  mistress ;  a  home  which  would  speedily  be  to  her  yet 
dearer,  as  the  birthplace  of  her  child ;  that  child  who  was  to  be 
the  supposed  heir  to  her  master  and  all  his  sainted  privileges  ; 
from  friends,  from  companions,  all  whom  she  had  loved :  and 

VOL.   I.  4 


66  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

she  had  left  them  !  And  whither  was  she  going  ?  How  might 
she  answer  when  she  knew  not  ?  Was  she  about  to  resign  all 
of  affection,  privilege,  joy,  to  wander  in  the  wilderness,  helpless 
and  alone  ?  How  idle  and  impotent  now  seemed  her  previous 
feelings.  Those  simple  questions  had  flashed  back  light  on  her 
darkened  heart,  and  humified  her  at  once ;  and  simply  and 
truthfully  she  answered,  "I  flee  from  the  presence  of  my  mistress 
Sarai ;"  thus  meekly  acknowledging  that  Sarai  was  still  her 
mistress,  and  that  her  derision  had  indeed  been  wrong.  Reproof, 
therefore,  followed  not ;  but  the  angel  hade  her,  "  Return  to  thy 
mistress,  and  submit  thyself  to  her  power."  And,  perceiving 
that  her  repentance  was  sincere,  and  would  lead  to  obedience, 
he  continued  graciously  to  promise  that  her  seed  should  be 
multiplied,  so  that  it  should  not  be  numbered  for  inultitude ; 
that  her  son  should  bear  a  name  which  would  ever  remind  her 
that  God  had  heard  her  afl3iction,  with  other  promises  concern- 
ing that  son,  yet  none  which  might  lead  her  to  the  deceitful 
belief  that  he  would  be  Abram's  promised  seed. 

Inexpressibly  consoled,  in  the  midst  of  her  bitter  self-reproach, 
and  convinced,  bv  his  supernatural  voice  and  disappearance,  that 
it  was  indeed  an  angel  direct  from  the  Lord  with  whom  she  had 
spoken,  it  is  evident  from  the  context,  although  not  there  men- 
tioned, that  Hagar  must  have  unhesitatingly  obeyed,  and  returned 
to  her  mistress — convinced  of  her  error — submissive  and  re- 
pentant, and  been  by  Sarai  received  with  returning  confidence 
and  full  forgiveness. 

In  due  course  of  time  the  promise  was  fulfilled,  and  Hagar,  to 
the  great  joy  of  Abram,  had  a  son,  whom  Ahrom  called  Ishmael, 
thus  proving  that  Hagar  must  have  imparted  the  visit  of  the 
angel,  and  his  command  as  to  the  name  of  her  son. 

Before  we  proceed,  we  would  entreat  our  younger  readers  to 
pause  one  moment  on  the  simple  facts  we  have  related  ;  and  so 
take  it  to  their  hearts,  that  the  first  words  of  the  angel  may 
become  theirs  as  well  as  Hagar's.  We  have  not  indeed  the 
direct  communings  with  the  messengers  of  the  Lord,  as  is  recorded 
in  the  Bible ;  but  we  are  not  left  unguided  and  unquestioned. 
We  have  still  an  angelic  voice  within  us,  that,  would  we  but 
encourage  it  to  speak — would  we  but  listen  to  it — can,  even  as 
the  angel's,  still  the  wild  torrent  of  passion,  awaken  us  to  our 
neglected  duty,  and  lead  us,  repentant  and  sorrowing,  to  those 
whom  we  may  have  offended.     God  has  not  left  us  without  His 


PERIOD       I. SARAH.  57 

witness.  The  voick  of  conscience  may  be  to  xis  what  angel 
visits  were  to  our  ancestors  of  old.  There  is  no  period  of  our 
lives  in  which  it  is  wholly  lost ;  but  in  youth  it  is  strongest  and 
most  thrilHng.  In  youth  it  is,  that  we  awake  from  the  (often) 
stagnant  sleep  of  earlier  years  ; — we  awake  to  a  consciousness  of 
bright,  glowing,  beautiful  existence  ; — we  become  conscious  of  a 
deep  yearning  after  the  good,  and  at  the  same  time  sorrowfully 
feel,  that  it  is  not  quite  as  easy  to  attain  as  we  believed  it.  As 
our  emotions  and  feehngs  spring  into  life,  so  does  conscience. 
We  become  aware  of  a  peculiar  thrilling  sense  of  joy,  when  we 
have  accomplished  good,  either  in  conquering  ourselves — in 
giving  up  a  selfish  inclination — or  in  showing  kindness,  affection, 
and  respect  to  others.  There  is  a  glowing  sense  of  joy,  when 
conscience  tells  us  we  have  done  well,  unlike  the  joy  proceeding 
from  any  other  cause ;  and  as  it  approves,  with  an  angel  voice 
that  will  be  heard,  so  does  it  disapprove.  We  may  stifle  it — 
we  may  refuse  to  listen  to  its  still  small  tones — yet  we  cannot 
shake  off  the  depression  and  the  sadness  which  it  leaves.  We 
may  refuse  to  know  wherefore  we  thus  feel ;  but  it  is  conscience 
still.  How  much  better,  then,  to  permit  its  having  voice  and 
power,  and,  as  it  dictates,  do — to  encourage  it  at  times  to  speak, 
and  ever  keep  its  silent  watch,  for  we  need  it,  oh  !  how  powerfully 
we  need  it.  How  fearful  is  our  responsibility  if  we  permit  it  to 
lie  unused  ;  for  more  strongly  than  aught  else  does  it  breathe 
our  approval,  or  our  condemnation,  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord.  Is 
there  one  amongst  us  that  has  not  felt,  at  one  time  or  other, 
emotions  similar  to  those  of  Hagar — anger  at  reproof,  scorn  of 
those  who  reprove,  rebellion  against  their  dictates  ;  and  we  would 
fly  from  their  presence  with  wrath  at  our  hearts,  and  rebellion 
on  our  lips  ;  and  at  such  times  does  the  voice  of  conscience  never 
steal  over  us  with  questions  similar  to  these  ?  "  Whence  comest 
thou  ?  Whither  wouldst  thou  flee  ?  What  wouldst  thou  do  ?" 
startling  us  from  wrath,  often  and  often  into  a  burst  of  passionate 
and  self-reproachful,  though,  as  yet,  only  half-repentant  tears. 
And  when  that  passion  in  a  degree  is  stilled — when  affection  and 
reason  softly  and  pleadingly  resume  their  sway,  does  not  the  angel 
voice  bid  us  also  "  return"  unto  those  whom  we  have  offended  ? 
submit  to  their  control  ?  It  is  wisest,  best,  though  our  wayward 
spirits  shrink  from  it,  proud  of  their  own  will,  desirous  of  undue 
freedom.  And  at  such  times,  oh  !  well  it  is  for  us,  now  and  here- 
after,  if,  even   as   Hagar,    we   return   and   submit,  and  thus 


58  THE       W  O  M  E  xV       OF      ISRAEL. 

acknowledge  the  power  of  that  inward  voice  !  Its  augehc  whisper 
will  come  to  us  again  ;  we  need  not  fear  them,  nor  shrink  from  a 
lonely  path — we  have  within  us  the  "  angel  of  the  Lord."  But 
those  who  hear  j'et  refuse  to  heed,  drowning  that  heavenly 
whisper  by  plunging  anew  into  gaiety  and 'pleasure,  or  stifling 
it  by  unwonted  industry,  are  exposing  themselves  to  distant  but 
untold  of  sorrows.  It  will,  indeed,  be  long  ere  conscience 
becomes  so  silenced  as  not  to  intrude,  but  she  will  at  length ; 
and  then,  when,  in  agony  of  spirit,  we  wake  from  our  vain  dream, 
and  would  give  worlds,  if  we  had  them,  to  feel  as  we  have  feit — 
to  hear  once  more  the  voice  of  conscience  thrilling  and  directing 
as  in  happier  years — to  be  awake  to  the  consciousness  of  our 
faults,  that  we  might  correct  and  subdue  them — and  feel  once 
more  the  glowing  approval  of  our  strivings  after  good,  oh  !  how 
agonizing  must  be  the  conviction — it  is  we  who  have  spurned, 
neglected,  and  so  silenced  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  that  it  must  be 
a  long,  long,  and  weary  interval  of  pain,  and  toil,  and  watching, 
ere  we  may  list  those  sweet  low  spiritual  tones  again.  Better, 
far  better,  the  momentary  pain  and  humility  of  acknowledgment 
and  submission.  Better,  far  better,  the  too  tender  conscience, 
giving  pain,  in  some  cases  apparently  unnecessarily,  than  its 
silence  and  stagnation  ;  for  it  must  one  day  awake,  and  dreadful 
will  be  that  waking.  To  obtain  this  blessed  influence — to  feel 
that  to  us  is  sent,  as  to  our  ancestors,  "  the  angel  of  the  Lord" — 
we  have  but  to  study  the  word  of  God  and  ourselves.  It  may  cost 
us  at  first  many  sad  and  weary  hours — many  bitter  tears— and 
many  a  secret  paug  ;  for  it  is  hard  so  to  know  ourselves  as  to 
see  faults  and  failings  which  others  see  not. — It  is  hard  to  restrain 
the  too  frequent  indulgence  of  favorite  pleasures,  because  we 
know  they  will  do  us  harm. — It  is  hard  sometimes  to  perform  a 
disagreeable,  nay  a  painful  duty,  only  because  we  feel  we  ought, 
though  our  friends  see  not  the  necessity ; — hard,  when  friends 
approve,  for  our  hearts  to  disapprove  ;  and  all  this  we  must 
encounter,  would  we  study  ourselves  and  God's  word,  till  our 
hearts  become  shrines  for  his  guiding  angel.  But  oh !  and 
depressing  as  all  this  raav  seem,  it  is  but  a  grain  in  the  balance 
compared  to  the  deep  thrilling  joy  which  is  its  accompaniment. 
Tho>e  who  have  once  felt  the  glow  of  approving  conscience — 
the  strength,  encouragement,  consolation,  hope,  which  it  gives 
when  all  around  is  desolate  and  dark,  who  feel  that,  hand-in-hand 
with  faith  and  prayer,  it  is  leading  us  safely  and  blessedly  through 


PERIOiJ        I.  SARAH.  59 

the  stony  paths  of  earth,  even  through  the  dark  valley  of  death, 
up  to  the  glowing  and  immortal  light  of  heaven,  will  welcome 
even  its  severest  pang  to  call  it  theirs,  and  hail  it  as,  indeed,  the 
angel  of  the  Lord. 

It  may  be  that  Sarai's  correction  of  Hagar  was  unduly  harsh, 
although  we  have  no  warrant  in  Scripture  for  so  believing ;  but 
it  is  evident,  as  there  is  no  further  mention  of  contention  and 
disagreement  between  them,  that  she  received  her  submission 
with  gentleness,  and  restored  her  to  favor.  It  is  well  when 
forgiveness  is  thus  recorded :  many  and  many  a  young  meek 
spirit  would  obey  the  voice  of  the  angel  and  return,  in  humility 
and  love,  could  they  but  be  sure  that  submission  would  be  gently 
and  lovingly  received ;  and  shrink  from  it  only  because  the 
chilling  reception,  the  uttered  but  noifelt  reconciliation,  falls  upon 
their  still  quivering  hearts  with  a  pang  and  degradation  which 
they  feel  that  as  yet  they  cannot  bear.  The  spirit  of  that  healing 
and  consoling  love  which  has  its  birth  in  religion,  must  guide  both 
the  offended  and  the  offender,  or  reconciliation  never  can  be 
complete  ;  nor  the  latter  be  securely  and  convincingly  led  back 
to  that  better  path  to  which  the  angel  points.  The  pang  of 
unrequited  confidence,  chilled  affection,  and  all  the  bitterness  of 
unnecessary  degradation,  Avill  be  stronger  at  first  than  the 
approving  glow  of  conscience  ;  while  a  contrary  reception,  even 
though  it  may  heighten  the  pang  of  self-reproach,  will  soothe 
and  encourage,  for  the  inward  voice  whispers — we  have  done 
well ;  and,  from  that  moment,  the  heavenly  messenger  assumes 
her  mild  dominion  in  the  heart,  never  to  be  lured  thence  again. 

For  thirteen  years  Abram  aud  Sarai  must  have  looked  upon 
Ishniael  as  the  promised  seed  ;  for  though,  not  actually  so  said, 
there  was  neither  spiritual  sign  nor  human  hope  of  the  patriarch 
having  any  other  child.  At  the  end  of  that  period,  however, 
the  Most  Iligh  again  appeared  unto  Abram,  proclaiming  Him- 
self as  the  Almighty, — a  fit  introduction  to  the  event  He  was 
about  to  foretell ;  and  bidding  His  favored  servant,  "  Walk 
before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect,"  perfect  in  trust,  in  fiith,  with- 
out any  regard  to  human  probabilities,  for,  as  Almighty  God, 
all  things  were  possible  with  Him.  The  name  of  the  patriarch 
was  then  changed,  as  a  sign  of  the  many  nations  over  whom  he 
was  appointed  father — the  land  again  promised  him — and  the 
covenant  appointed  which  was  to  mark  his  descendants  as  the 
chosen  of  the  Lord,  the  everlasting  inheritors  of  Canaan  ;  and. 


60  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

bear  witness,  to  untold-of  ages,  of  the  truth  of  the  Lord's  word, 
and  the  election  of  His  people.  This  proclaimed  and  com- 
manded, the  Eternal  commenced  His  information  of  the  miracle 
He  was  about  to  perform,  by  desiring  Abraham  to  call  his  wife 
no  longer  Sarai  i^ia  but  Sarah  mb — a  change  which  our 
ancient  fathers  suppose  to  mean  the  same  as  from  Abram  to 
Abraham.  "  Sarai,  signifying  a  la^y  or  princess  in  a  restricted 
sense,  imported  that  she  was  a  lady,  or  princess,  to  Abram 
only  ;  whereas  the  latter  name  signifies  princess  or  lady  abso- 
lutely, indicating  that  she  would  thus  be  acknowledged  by 
many,  even  as  Abraham  was  to  become  the  father  of  many 
nations."*  A  meaning  perfectly  reconcilable  with  the  verse 
which  follows  :  "And  I  will  bless  her,  and  give  thee  a  son  also 
of  her :  yea,  I  will  bless  her,  so  that  she  shall  be  a  mother  of 
nations  ;  kings  of  peoj^le  shall  be  of  her."  She  was,  therefore, 
no  longer  a  princess  over  Abraham's  household,  but  a  princess 
in  royal  rank,  from  whom  kings  should  descend.  Joy  must 
have  been  the  first  emotion  of  Abraham's  heart  at  this  miracu- 
lous announcement,  mingled  with  a  feeling  of  wonder  and 
astonishment  how  such  a  thing  could  be ;  but  then,  in  his 
peculiarly  affectionate  heart,  came  the  thought  of  his  first-born 
Ishmael,  and  with  earnestness  he  prayed,  "  Oh  !  that  Ishmael 
might  live  before  thee !"  And  though  the  Eternal  could  not 
grant  this  prayer,  for  the  seed  of  Abraham,  from  whom  His 
chosen  people  would  spring,  must  be  of  pure  and  unmixed  birth, 
He  yet,  with  compassionating  tenderness,  soothed  the  father's 
anxious  love,  by  the  gracious  promise  that,  though  Sarah's  child 
must  be  the  seed  with  whom  His  covenant  should  be  established, 
yet  Ishmael  also  should  be  blessed  and  multiplied  exceedingly, 
and  become,  even  as  Isaac,  the  father  of  a  great  nation.  "  And 
for  Ishmael  I  have  also  heard  thee."  How  blessed  an  encou- 
ragement for  us  to  pour  forth  our  prayers  unto  the  Lord,  proving, 
how  consolingly,  that  no  prayer  is  ofl:ered  in  vain ;  tor  if  He 
cannot  grant  as  our  infinite  wishes  would  dictate,  He  will  yet 
hear  us — yet  fulfil  our  prayer  far  better  for  our  welfare,  and  the 
welfare  of  our  beloved  ones,  than  our  own  wishes  could  have 
accomplished,  had  they  been  granted  to  the  full. 

The  acceptance  of  the  covenant  throughout  Abraham's  house- 

*  See  note  to  Gen.  xvii.  15,  in  the  Rev.  D.  A.  De  Sola's  translation  of 
the  Bible. 


PERIOD      I, SARAH.  61 

hold,  and  the  change  in  her  own  name,  must,  of  course,  have 
been  imparted  by  Abraham  to  his  wife,  with  the  addition  of  the 
startling  promise,  that  she  too,  e\en  at  her  advanced  age,  should 
bear  a  son.  Yet  by  her  behavior,  when  the  promise  was 
repeated  in  the  following  chapter,  it  would  appear  that,  though 
informed  of  it,  she  had  dismissed  it  from  her  mind  as  a  thing 
impossible.  Accustomed  to  regard  Ishmael  as  the  only  seed  of 
Abraham — to  suppose  her  scheme  had  been  blessed,  more  par- 
ticularly as  she  had  never  been  named  before  as  the  mother  of 
the  chosen  seed — the  hope  of  being  so  had  long  since  entirely 
faded;  and,  not  having  attained  the  simple  questionless  faith 
of  her  husband,  she,  in  all  probability,  dismissed  the  the  ight,  as 
recalling  too  painfully  those  ardent  hopes  and  wishes,  which  she 
had  with  such  difficulty  previously  subdued.  Engaged,  as  was 
her  wont,  in  her  domestic  duties,  she  was  one  day  interrupted 
by  the  hasty  entrance  of  her  husband,  requiring  her  "  quickly 
to  prepare  three  measures  of  fine  meal,  knead  it,  and  make  it 
into  cakes."  Patriarchal  hospitality  was  never  satisfied  by  com- 
mitting to  hirelings  only  the  fit  preparations  for  a  hearty  wel- 
come. We  see  either  iSarah  herself  making  the  desired  cakes, 
or  closely  superintending  her  domestics  in  doing  so ;  and  the 
patriarch  hastening,  in  the  warmth  of  his  hospitality,  himself  to 
fetch  a  calf  from  the  herd,  to  give  it  to  a  young  man  to  dress  it, 
though  he  had  abundance  of  servants  around  him  to  save  him 
the  exertion.  Yet  both  Abraham  and  Sarah  were  of  the  nobility 
of  the  Eternal's  creating.  He  had  raised  them  above  their 
fellows,  and  bestowed  on  them  the  patent  of  an  aristocracy,  with 
which  not  one  of  the  nations  could  vie,  for  it  came  from  God 
Himself.  He  had  changed  their  names  to  signify  their  royal 
claims — to  make  them  regarded  in  future  ages  as  noble  ances- 
tors of  a  long  line  of  prophets,  kings,  princes,  and  nobles ;  and 
there  was  a  refinement,  a  nobleness,  a  magnanimity  of  character 
in  both  the  patriarch  and  his  wife,  which,  breathing  through 
their  very  simplicity,  betrayed  their  native  aristocracy,  and 
marked  them  of  that  princely  race  which  has  its  origin  in  the 
favor  and  election  of  the  King  of  kings.  The  primitive  sim- 
plicity of  our  first  fathers  generally  impresses  the  mind  with  the 
mistaken  idea  of  their  being  simply  farmers  or  agriculturists, 
both  of  which  they  certainly  were,  but  not  these  alone,  as  sup- 
posed in  the  present  acceptation  of  the  term.  They  were 
princes  and  nobles,  not  only  in  their  mental  superiority  but  in 


62  THE      WOMEN      OF     ISRAEL. 

their  immense  possessions — in  their  large  and  well  ordered  house- 
holds, in  the  power  they  possessed  both  in  their  own  establish^ 
ments  and  in  the  adjoining  lands,  and  in  the  respect  and  sub- 
mission ever  paid  them  by  the  nations  with  whom  they  might 
have  held  intercourse.  Abraham  was  never  addressed  save  as 
"  My  Lord,"  either  by  his  own  domestics  or  other  nations ;  thus 
acknowledged  as  superior,  and  of.,poble  if  not  royal  rank,  by 
those  who  could  scarcely  be  supf)dfeed  to  undei^^tand  why  he 
was  so,  save  by  the  outward  signs  of  landed  possession  and  large 
establishment.  Those  who  think  so  much  of  noble  descent  and 
princely  connexion,  would  do  well  to  remember  this — that 
'impoverished,  scattered,  chastised,  for  a  "  little  moment,''  as  we 
are — yet,  that  if  we  are  children  and  descendants  of  Abraham 
— Israelites  not  only  in  seeming  but  in  heart — we  are 
descended  from  the  aristocracy  of  the  Lord — from  a  higher  and 
nobler  race  than  even  Gentile  kings  may  boast ;  a  privilege  and 
glory  of  which  no  circumstance,  no  affliction,  no  persecution  can 
deprive  us — ours,  through  all  and  every  event  of  life,  unless 
we  cast  it  from  us  by  the  dark  deed  of  forsaking,  for  ambition, 
or  gold,  or  power,  the  banner  of  our  blessed  faith — the  religion 
of  our  God. 

Yet  noble,  even  princely,  as  were  Abraham  and  Sarah,  it 
was  no  sign  of  rank,  with  them,  to  be  cold  and  restrained  by 
false  artificial  laws.  In  the  Bible,  nobility  was  nature  and  heart, 
simplicity  and  benevolence,  cordiality  and  warmth  ;  no  cold- 
ness, no  indifference,  no  folding  up  the  affections  and  the 
impulses  of  feeling  in  the  icy  garment  of  pride  and  fashion, 
which  so  often  turns  to  selfishness,  and  so  utterly  prevents  all 
of  benevolence  and  social  good.  Abraham  knew  not,  at  his 
first  invitation,  the  rank  or  mission  of  his  visitors.  His  address 
was  one  of  the  hearfs  respect,  not  the  mere  politeness  of  the 
lip  ;  and  the  warmth  of  his  welcome  would  not  permit  of  his 
sitting  idly  down  while  hirelings  prepared  their  meal — nay,  we 
find  that,  even  while  they  sat  down  to  partake  of  it,  their  host 
stood, — a  mark  of  profound  respect,  which  a  further  considera- 
tion of  their  majestic  aspect  prompted,  by  the  supposition  that 
they  were  more  than  ordinary  mortals. 

Sarah  joined  not  her  husband  or  his  guests.  The  modest 
and  dignified  customs  of  the  East  prevented  all  intrusion,  or 
even  the  wish  to  intrude.  Unless  particularly  asked  for,  the 
place  of  the  Eastern  and  Jewish  wife  was  in  the  retirement  of 


PERIOD       I.  SARAH.  63 

home  ;  not  from  any  inferiority  of  rank,  or  servitude  of  station, 
but  simply  because  their  inclination  so  prompted.  The  strangers 
might  have  business  with  Abraham,  which,  if  needed,  he  would 
impart  to  her ;  there  was  no  occasion  for  her  to  come  forward. 
But,  while  seated  in  the  inner  tent,  engaged  in  her  usual 
avocations,  she  heard  her  own  name,  *'  Where  is  Sarah,  thy 
wife  ?"  and  her  husband's  reply,  "  She  is  in  the  tent,"  followed 
by  words  that  must  indeed" -have  sounded  strange  and  improba- 
ble, "  Sarah,  thy  wife,  shall  bear  a  son ;"  yet,  improbable  as 
they  might  have  seemed,  there  is  no  excuse  for  the  laugh  of 
incredulity  with  which  they  were  received.  Already  prepared 
by  the  previous  promise  of  the  Lord,  the  words  should  at 
once  have  revealed  the  heavenly  nature  of  those  who  spake, 
and  been  heard  with  faith  and  thankfulness  ;  but  Saran  thought 
only  of  the  human  impossibility.  Strange  as  it  is,  that  such 
unbelief  should  be  found  in  the  beloved  partner  of  Abraham, 
yet  her  laugh  proves  that  even  she  was  not  exempt  from  the 
natural  feelings  of  mortality — the  looking  to  human  means  and 
human  possibilities  alone  ;  forgetting  that  with  God  all  things 
are  possible.  Yet,  to  us,  the  whole  of  this  incident  is  consoling. 
It  proves  that  even  Sai'ah  was  not  utterly  free  from  human 
infirmities ;  and  yet  that  the  Eternal,  through  His  atigel, 
deigned  graciously  to  reprove,  not  to  chastise.  It  proves  that 
God  has  compassion  on  the  nature  of  His  erring  children  ;  for 
he  knows  their  weakness.  Man  would  have  been  wroth  with 
the  laugh  of  scorn,  and  withdrawn  his  intended  favor  ;  but 
"  the  Lord  said  unto  Abraham,  Wherefore  did  Sarah  laugh, 
saying.  Shall  I,  who  am  old,  indeed  bear  a  child  ?  Is  anything 
too  mighty  for  the  Lord  ?  At  the  time  appointed  I  will  return 
unto  thee,  and  Sarah  shall  indeed  have  a  son."  The  gracious 
mildness  of  the  rebuke — the  blessed  repetition  of  the  promise 
— must,  to  one  so  affectionate  as  Sarah,  have  caused  the  bitter- 
est reproach ;  but,  weakly  listening  to  fear  instead  of  repentance, 
she  denied  her  fault,  seeking  thus  mistakenly  to  extenuate  it. 
But  He  said,  "  Nay,  but  thou  didst  laugh,"  proving  that  her 
innermost  thoughts  were  known  ;  and,  silenced  at  once,  left  to 
the  solitude  of  her  own  tent,  for  Abraham  accompanied  his 
guests  on  the  road  to  Sodom,  we  know  quite  enough  of  Sarah's 
character  to  rest  satisfied  that  repentance  and  self-abasement 
for  unbelief,  mingled  with,  and  hallowed  the  burst  of  rejoicing 
thankfulness  with  which  she  must  have  looked  forward  to  an 

4* 


64  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

event  so  full  of  bliss  to  hev  individually,  and  so  blessed  a  reve« 
lation  of  the  Lord's  deep  love  for  Abraham  and  herself  Nearly 
twenty  years  had  passed  since  the  first  promise  of  an  heir  in  his 
own  child  bad  been  given.  Years,  long,  full  of  incident  and 
feeling,  seeming  in  their  passing  an  interval  long  enough  for  the 
utter  forgetfulness  of  the  promise,  save  as  it  was  supposed 
fulfilled  in  the  birth  of  Ishmael ;  but  now,  in  the  retrospect,  the 
promise  flashed  back  with  a  vividness,  a  brightness,  as  if  scarce 
a  single  year  had  passed  ere  it  had  been  given  :  and  Sarah 
must  have  felt  self-reproached  in  the  midst  of  her  joy,  that  she 
had  not  waited,  had  not  trusted,  had  not  believed  unto  the  end 
And  many  a  one,  ere  hfe  has  closed,  will  feel  as  she  did  ;  not 
indeed,  from  the  same  cause— but  often  and  often  a  prayer  hat 
been  oSered  up,  a  promise  given  from  the  word  of  God,  and 
both  have  been  forgotten,  neglected,  mistrusted,  through  long 
weary  years — as  vainly  prayed  and  vainly  answered — and 
yet,  ere  life  has  closed,  recalled  as  by  a  flash  of  sudden  light, 
by  the  divine  answer  to  the  one,  and  gracious  fulfilment  of  the 
other. 

Before  the  birth,  of  Isaac,  however,  Abraham  and  his  family 
once  more  removed  their  dwelling,  partly,  it  may  be  supposed, 
to  fulfil  the  words  of  the  Lord  previously  spoken :  "  Arise, 
walk  through  the  land,  in  the  length  of  it  and  the  breadth  of 
it,  for  I  will  give  it  unto  thee ;"  and  partly  from  the  desolate 
appearance  and  poisonous  vapors  of  the  once  beautiful  vale  of 
Sodom,  and  in  consequence  of  the  cessation  of  travellers,  to 
whom  Abraham  had  so  delighted  to  show  hospitality.  We 
shall  pass  lightly  over  the  next  event  in  the  life  of  Sarah,  having 
already  made  our  remarks  on  a  similar  occurrence.  The  fault 
of  the  patriarch  in  again  passing  his  wife  for  his  sister,  was 
indeed  much  greater  than  it  had  been  at  the  first.  He  had 
now  no  longer  the  excuse  of  not  sufficiently  knowing  the  ways 
of  the  Lord  to  trust  in  Him,  even  in  the  midst  of  those  dangers 
incidental  to  mankind,  yet  seeming  too  trivial  for  the  interference 
of  the  Most  High.  He  had  had  nearly  thirty  years'  experience 
that  he  was  in  truth  the  chosen  servant,  and  the  well-beloved 
of  the  Lord — that  there  was  not  an  event  in  his  life  which  had 
not  been  ordered  and  guided  by  a  special  providence  ;  and  he 
ought  to  have  known  that  this  danger,  as  every  other,  would 
be  overruled.  Yet,  while  we  regret  that  this  incomprehensible 
weakness  should  overshadow    the  beautiful  character  of  our 


PERIOD       I.  SARAH.  65 

great  ancestor,  we  may  not  condemn  :  for,  at  this  distance  of 
time,  and  complete  change  in  manners  and  customs,  it  is 
impossible  for  us  to  know  the  temptation  he  may  have  had  to 
act  as  he  did,  or  the  extent  of  danger  to  which  he  was  exposed. 
The  most  truly  pious,  the  most  experienced  in  religion,  have 
often  to  mourn  their  "  iniquities  in  holy  things."  The  painful 
struggle  is  always  to  realize  faith,  to  trust  without  one  doubt, 
and  more  particularly  in  the  smaller  trials  of  life,  which  they 
deem  too  trivial  for  the  notice,  compassion,  or  interference  of  the 
Eternal.  Nor  can  even  proofs  of  a  superintending  providence 
always  conquer  the  weakness  of  human  nature.  In  this  world, 
the  likeness  of  God 'will  at  times  be  completely  hidden  in  the 
earthly  shell,  however  it  may  stand  forth  at  others,  as  if  naught 
of  clay  could  dull  it  more.  And  this  was  the  case  with  Abra- 
ham, who,  though  the  beloved  of  the  Lord,  was  yet  human, 
and  liable  to  all  the  weaknesses  and  frailties  of  human  nature. 
We  are  not  therefore  to  condemn,  and  so  withdraw  our  admira- 
tion of  his  great  and  most  consolingly  beautiful  character, 
because  in  two  instances  he  falls  short  of  our  ideas  of  perfection 
— but  rather  thank  God  that  in  His  Word  human  nature  is 
recorded  as  it  is,  simply  that  we  may  not  despair.  It  is  enough 
for  us,  in  this  part  of  our  narrative,  to  notice  that  our  gracious 
God  demands  no  more  of  His  creatures  than  He  knows  they 
can  perform  ;  that  Abraham's  faulty  weakness  in  this  one 
instance,  could  not  blot  from  the  recollection  o^  the  Lord  his 
pure  and  simple  faith  in  every  other  ;  and  that  he  permitted 
all  that  occurred  in  the  kingdom  of  Gerar  to  make  manifest, 
alike  to  Abraham  and  the  nations.  His  continued  watchfulness 
and  miraculous  interposition  in  favor  of  those  whom  He  loves 
— His  power  to  protect  them  from  all  harm,  and  also,  that 
nothing  was  too  wonderful  for  Him.  Sarah  had  imagined  she 
was  too  old  to  enjoy  the  felicity  of  becoming  a  mother — too 
old  in  any  way  to  excite  admiration,  save  to  the  beloved  hus- 
band of  her  youth  ;  and,  ignorant  that  her  beauty  had  been 
supernaturally  renewed,  neglected  to  assume  the  veil,  which  was 
worn  by  all  Eastern  women  dwelling  in  towns.  This  explains 
Abiraelech's  present  of  a  "covering  for  the  eyes,"  and  the 
words,  "  thus  she  was  reproved,"  or  warned,  that  her  beauty 
subjected  her  to  as  much  danger  as  had  been  the  case  in  her 
youth. 

Miraculously  protected  by  the  Eternal,  and  publicly  vindicated 


66  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

from  all  dishonor  by  the  King  of  Gerar,  Sarah  and  hei 
husband  continued  to  dwell  in  Abimelech's  dominions,  some 
few  miles  to  the  south  of  Gerar;  a  place  afterwards  called 
Beer-Shebang,  or  Well  of  the  Oath,  from  the  covenant  of  peace 
there  made  between  the  patriarch  and  the  king.  Here  it  was 
that  at  the  appointed  time  "  God  visited  Sarah  as  He  had  said  ;" 
and  the  promised  seed — the  child  of  rejoicing — Isaac  was 
born.  What  must  have  been  the  emotions  of  Sarah  on  behold- 
ing him  ?  Not  alone  the  bliss  of  a  mother ;  but  that  in 
him  the  infant  claimer  of  a  love  and  joy  which  she  had 
never  so  felt  before,  she  beheld  a  visible  and  palpable  manifesta- 
tion of  the  wonderful  power  and  unchanging  love  of  the 
Most  High  God.  Devoted,  as  Sarah  had  been,  to  the  service 
and  love  of  the  Lord,  how  inexpressibly^  must  those  emo- 
tions have  been  heightened  as  she  gazed  upon  her  babe,  and 
held  him  to  her  bosom  as  her  own,  her  granted  child !  To 
those  who  really  love  the  Lord,  joy  is  as  dear,  as  bright, 
as  close  a  link  between  the  heart  and  its  God,  as  grief  is 
to  more  fallen  natures.  We  find  the  hymn  of  rejoicing,  the 
song  of  thanksgiving,  always  the  vehicle  in  which  the  favored 
servants  of  the  Lord  poured  forth  their  grateful  adoration, 
thus  proving  that  the  thought  of  the  beneficent  Giver  ever 
hallowed  and  sanctified  the  gift;  and  therefore  we  believe 
with  our  ancient  fathers,  that  though  7iot  translated  metricalli/, 
Sarah  expressed  her  joy  in  a  short  hymn  of  thanksgiving.  The 
peculiar  idiom  of  the  Hebrew  text  confirms  this  supposi- 
tion,* and  we  adopt  it  as  most  natural  to  the  occasion. 
Her  age  had  had  no  power,  even  before  she  became  a  mother, 
to  dull  her  feelings,  and  her  song  of  thanksgiving  well  expresses 
every  emotion  natural,  not  alone  to  the  occasion,  but  to  her 
peculiar  situation.  As  a  young  mother,  full  of  life,  of  senti- 
ment, of  aflfection,  she  felt  towards  her  babe — giving  him 
his  natural  food  from  her  own  bosom — tending  his  infant 
years — guiding  him  from  boyhood  to  youth — from  youth 
to  manhood,  and  lavishing  on  him  the  full  tide  of  love  which 
had  been  pent  up  so  long.  The  very  character  of  Isaac,  as 
is  afterwards  displayed — meek,  yielding,  affectionate  almost  as  a 
woman's — disinclined  to  enterprise — satisfied  with  his  heritage 
— all  prove    the   influence   which   his  mother  had  possessed, 

*  See  the  Rev.  D.  A.  De  Sola's  translation,  and  note  thereon. 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  67 

and  that  his  disposition  was  more  the  work  of  her  hand  than  of 
his  father's. 

"  The  child  grew  and  was  weaned,"  Holy  Writ  proceeds 
to  inform  us;  "and  Abraham  made  a  great  feast  the  day 
Isaac  was  weaned," — a  feast  of  rejoicing  that  the  Eternal 
had  mercifully  preserved  him  through  the  first  epoch  of 
his  young  existence.  He  was  now  three  years  old,  if  not  more — 
for  the  women  of  the  East,  even  now,  do  not  wean  their  children 
till  that  age.  The  feast,  however,  which  commenced  in  joy, 
was,  for  the  patriarch,  dashed  with  sorrow  ere  it  closed. 
Educated  with  the  full  idea  that  he  was  his  father's  heir — 
though  the  words  of  the  angel  before  his  birth  gave  no  warrant 
for  the  supposition — to  Ishmael  and  his  mother,  the  birth 
of  Isaac  must  have  been  a  grievous  disappointment.  And  we 
find  the  son  committing  the  same  fault  as  his  mother  previously 
had  done— deriding,  speaking  disrespectfully  of  Sarah  and  her 
child.  The  youth  of  Ishmael,  and  Sarah's  request  that  the 
bond-woman  might  also  be  expelled,  would  lead  to  the  supposi- 
tion that  it  was  Hagar  who  had  instigated  the  affront.  The  age 
of  Sarah,  and  the  decidedly  superhuman  birth  of  Isaac,  must,  to 
all  but  the  patriarch's  own  household,  have  naturally  given  rise 
to  many  strange  and  perhaps  calumniating  reports.  In  the 
common  events  of  life  all  that  is  incomprehensible  is  either 
ridiculed,  disbelieved,  or  made  matter  of  scandal ;  and,  there- 
fore, in  a  case  so  uncommon  as  this,  it  is  more  than  proba- 
ble reports  very  discreditable  both  to  Sarah  and  Abraham  were 
promulgated  all  around  them.  Hagar,  indeed,  and  Ishmael 
must  have  known  differently  : — that  it  was  the  hand  of  God 
which  worked,  and  therefore  all  things  were  possible ;  but 
it  was  to  Ishmael's  interest  to  dispute  or  deny  the  legitimacy  of 
Isaac ;  and  therefore  it  was  not  in  human  nature  to  neglect  the 
opportunity.  No  other  offence  would  have  so  worked  on 
Sarah.  We  are  apt  to  think  more  poetically  than  justly 
of  this  part  of  the  Bible.  Hagar  and  her  young  son,  expelled 
from  their  luxurious  and  happy  home,  almost  perishing  in 
the  desert  from  thirst,  are  infinitely  more  interesting  objects 
of  consideration  and  sympathy,  than  the  harsh  and  jealous 
Sarah,  who,  for  seemingly  such  trifling  offence,  demanded 
and  obtained  such  severe  retribution. 

We  generally  rest  satisfied  with  one  or  two  verses ;  whereas, 
did  we  look  further  and  think  deeper,  our  judgment  would  be 


68  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

different.  In  a  mere  superficial  reading  we  acknowledge  Sarah 
does  appear  in  rather  an  unfavorable  light ;  as  if  her  love  for 
Isaac  had  suddenly  narrowed  and  stagnated  every  other  feeling ; 
and,  jealous  of  Ishmael's  influence  over  his  father,  she  had 
determined  on  seizing  the  first  opportunity  for  his  expulsion. 
That  this,  however,  is  a  wrong  judgment  is  proved  by  the  fact, 
that  the  Eternal  Himself  desires  Abraham  to  hearken  to  the 
voice  of  Sarah  in  all  that  she  shall  say;  for  in  Isaac  was  to  be 
the  promised  seed,  though  of  Ishmael  al'io  would  He  make  a 
nation,  because  he  was  Abraham's  son.  That  Sarah's  advice 
was  not  to  be  displeasing  to  him,  because  of  the  lad  and  his 
mother. 

Now,  had  Sarah's  advice  proceeded  from  an  undue  harsh- 
ness, a  mean  and  jealous  motive,  the  Most  H'gh  would,  in  His 
divine  justice,  have  taken  other  means  for  the  fulfilment  of  His 
decrees.  He  would  not  have  desired  His  good  and  faithful 
servant  to  be  so  guided  by  an  evil  and  suspicious  tongue. 
There  are  times  when  we  feel  urged  and  impelled  to  speak  that 
which  we  are  yet  conscious  will  be  productive  of  pain  and 
suffering  to  ourselves.  All  such  impulses  are  of  God ;  and  it 
must  have  been  some  such  feeling  which  actuated  Sarah,  and 
compelled  her  to  continue  her  solicitation  for  the  expulsion  of 
Hagar  and  Ishmael,  even  after  the  moment  of  anger  was  passed. 
We  know  that  Hagar  had  ever  been  her  favorite  slave ;  it  was 
impossible  for  one  affectionate  as  was  Sarah,  to  have  regarded 
Ishmael  as  her  son  for  thirteen  or  fourteen  years  and  yet  not 
have  loved  him,  though  of  course  with  less  intensity  than  his 
father.  The  birth  of  Isaac  naturally  revealed  yet  stronger  emo- 
tions ;  still  Ishmael  could  not  have  been  so  excluded  from  her 
affections  as  to  render  her  separation  from  him  void  of  pain. 
And  still  she  spoke,  still  urged  the  necessity,  conscious  all  the 
time  she  was  inflicting  pain  not  only  on  her  husband  but  on 
herself.  This  appears  like  contradiction  ;  but  each  one  who  has 
attentively  studied  the  workings  of  his  own  heart,  will  not  only 
feel  but  pronounce  it  truth.  Anger  caused  the  demand : 
"  Expel  this  bondwoman  and  her  son  ;  for  the  son  of  this  bond- 
woman shall  not  inherit  with  my  son,  even  with  Isaac ;"  and 
calmer  reflection  continued  to  see  the  necessity.  Abraham's 
possessions  were  sufficient  for  the  heritage  of  both  his  sons  ;  but 
as  the  course  of  nature  was  changed,  and  the  younger,  not  the 
elder,   was  to  be   the   heir  of  promise,  confusion  and  discord 


PERIOD     I. SARAH.  69 

would  have  ensued,  and  the  brothers  continually  have  been  at 
war.  Sarah's  penetration  appears  to  have  discovered  this  ;  and 
as  it  was  necessary  for  Ishmael  to  form  a  separate  establish- 
ment, it  was  an  act  of  kindness,  not  of  harshness,  to  let  him 
depart  with  Hagar,  instead  of  going  forth  alone.  From  her 
own  feelings  she  now  knew  the  whole  extent  of  a  mother's  love ; 
and  therefore,  though  Ishmael  had  been  the  sole  offender,  and 
the  only  one  whose  claims  were  likely  to  clash  with  Isaac's,  she 
would  not  separate  the  mother  from  the  son,  and  so  urged 
Abraham  to  separate  from  both. 

There  is  something  touchiugly  beautiful  in  ,he  patriarch's 
love  for  his  elder  son,  and  yet  his  instant  conquest  of  self  at 
the  word  of  the  Lord.  His  deep  affection  had  blinded  him  to 
the  probable  discomforts  which  might  ensue  from  his  sons 
remaining  together.  His  gentle  and  affectionate  nature  shrank 
from  the  pang  of  separation,  causing  even  displeasure  against 
Sarah  for  the  first  time  in  their  long  and  faithful  intercourse. 
Yet  when  God  spake  there  was  neither  complaint  nor  murmur, 
nor  one  word  of  supplication  that  the  heavy  trial  might  be 
averted  from  him.  It  was  enough  that  the  Most  High  had 
spoken ;  and  though  all  was  dark  before  his  son,  to  the  fond 
anxious  gaze  of  parental  afiection,  he  knew  even  from  that 
darkness  God  could  bring  forth  light,  and  would  do  so,  for  He 
had  promised. 

We  are  sometimes  surprised  at  the  small  provision  with 
which  Abraham  endowed  his  son  at  his  departure.  The  riches 
of  the  patriarchs  consisted  of  land,  flocks,  herds,  and  servants  ; 
nothing  which  could  easily  be  bestowed.  Besides  which, 
Ishmael  was  to  become  the  ancestor  of  a  nation,  through  the 
direct  agency  of  the  Lord^  not  from  any  provision  made  him  by 
his  earthly  father.  Had  Abraham  endowed  him,  the  interposi- 
tion of  the  Eternal  would  not  have  been  so  clearly  and  unan- 
swerably demonstrated.  There  would  have  been  many  to  have 
traced  his  riches  and  the  princely  rank  of  his  descendants  from 
the  gifts  and  power  of  Abraham,  and  denied  altogether  any 
interposition  of  the  Lord ;  whereas,  sent  forth  as  he  was,  with 
nothing  but  sufficient  provision  to  sustain  him  till  he  reached 
his  appointed  resting,  it  was  impossible  even  for  the  greatest 
sceptic  to  trace  his  future  prosperity  and  wealth  to  any  earthly 
power  alone.  The  bread  and  water  must  not  be  supposed  as 
meaning  only  what  we  now  regard  them.     In  the  language  of 


70  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

the  Bible  bread  is  used  indiscriminately  for  every  kind  of  food, 
and  the  bottle  of  water  signifies  a  skinful,  such  being  used  by 
Eastern  travellers  even  now,  and  containing  much  more  than  we 
imagine  is  comprised  by  the  term  "  bottle."  Yet  even  these 
were  to  fail,  that  the  miraculous  power  and  compassionate  love 
of  the  Eternal  might  still  more  startlingly  be  proved.  It  was 
as  easy  for  the  Most  High  to  have  guided  Ishmael  and  his 
mother  at  once  to  their  destined  dwelling,  as  to  try  them  as 
He  did  in  the  ordeal  of  alike  physical  and  mental  suffering. 
But  He  chose  the  latter,  at  once  to  prove  His  love  to  them,  and 
to  give  to  future  ages,  through  his  unerring  word,  comfort  in 
their  darkest  hours ;  for  as  He  relieved  Hagar,  so  wili  He  them. 
The  God  of  the  bondwoman  is  ours  still ;  no  time,  no  change 
can  part  us  from  Him. 

The  narrative  of  Hagar's  wanderings  in  the  wilderness,  her 
maternal  suffering  and  miraculous  relief,  is  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  and  most  touching  amongst  the  many  beauties  of  the 
Bible.  Hagar  was  not  of  Abraham's  race,  but  one  of  a  heathen 
and  benighted  nation,  a  bondwoman  and  a  wanderer,  a  weak 
and  lonely  female,  exiled  from  a  home  of  love,  overwhelmed 
with  anxious  fears  for  her  child,  perhaps,  too,  with  self-reproaches 
for  the  unguarded  words  which  she  encouraged  her  boy  to 
speak,  and  which  she  regarded  as  the  sole  cause  of  her  banish- 
ment ;  yet  was  this  poor  sufferer  the  peculiar  care  of  the  great 
and  mighty  God.  He  caused  the  clouds  of  densest  darkness  to 
close  around  her — from  them  to  bring  forth  the  brightest,  most 
enduring  light.  He  deigned,  by  His  angel,  to  speak  comfort 
and  hojie,  and  even  for  her  human  wants  pi-ovided  the  necessary 
aid.  He  did  not  guard  from  sori-ow  ;  for  it  was  not  until  "  the 
water  was  spent  in  the  bottle,  and  she  cast  the  child  under  one 
of  the  shrubs,  and  she  went  and  sat  down  over  against  him, 
a  good  way  off,  for  she  said.  Let  me  not  see  the  death  of  the 
child ;  and  she  sat  over  against  him,  and  lifted  up  her  voice 
and  wept " — not  till  her  trial  was  thus  at  its  height,  that  the 
angelic  voice  descended  from  heaven  in  such  pitying  and  sym- 
pathizing accents  :  "  What  aileth  thee,  O  Hagar  ?  Fear  not, 
for  God  hath  heard  the  voice  of  the  lad  whence  he  is.  Arise, 
hft  up  the  lad,  and  hold  him  in  thine  hand,  for  1  will  make  him 
a  great  nation."     And  the  promise  was  fulfilled. 

The  whole  history  of  Hagar  is  fraught  with  the  deepest  com- 
fort.    She  was  one  of  the  many  in  individual  character ;  pes- 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  71 

sessing  alike  woman's  engaging  and  faulty  characteristics : 
feeling  and  aflfectionate  at  one  time,  overbearing  and  insolent  at 
another — loving  Ishmael  with  impetuous  and  clinging  love, 
which  could  not  bear  to  see  his  supposed  heritage  become  the 
property  of  another,  though  she  knew  it  was  the  decree  of  God 
— reverencing  and  loving  Abraham  alike  as  her  master  and  the 
father  of  her  child,  but  unable  always  to  preserve  the  submission 
and  respect  due  to  Sarah  as  her  mistress  and  indulgent  friend  ; 
for,  though  the  mother  of  Abraham's  child,  she  was  still  Sarah's 
maid  ; — such  was  Hagar.  Neither  in  character  superior,  nor  in 
station  equal,  to  the  daughters  of  Israel  now ;  yet  was  she  the 
peculiar  charge  of  the  Most  High,  and  twice  did  He  deign,  in 
closest  communion,  to  instruct  and  console.  Her  hfe  had  its 
trials,  in  no  way  inferior  in  severity  or  in  deep  suffering  to  the 
trials  of  the  present  day.  Yet  God  was  with  her  in  them  all ; 
and,  in  His  own  appointed  time,  permitted  them  to  give  place 
to  prosperity  and  joy.  And  as  He  worked  then,  so  He  worketh 
now.  It  is  no  proof  of  His  dearest  love,  when  life  passes  by 
without  a  cloud — when  sorrow  and  trial  are  strangers  to  our 
path.  His  word  reveals  that  those  whom  He  loved  the  best^ 
alike  male  or  female,  endured  the  severest  trials — that  His  love, 
His  guiding  word,  were  not  given  to  the  children  of  joy.  To 
become  His  servant.  His  loved,  His  chosen,  was  to  sutler  and  to 
labor.  We  see  this  throughout  His  word ;  and  shall  we,  dare 
we,  expect  their  exemption  now  ?  Oh  !  no,  no  !  Would  we  love 
the  Lord,  would  we  truly  be  loved  by  Him,  would  we  pray  for 
and  seek  His  paths,  would  we  struggle  on  to  the  goal  of  immor- 
tal love  and  bhss,  we  must  nerve  both  heart  and  frame  to 
hear  ;  strengthen  and  arouse  every  faculty  to  endure  and  suffer  ; 
for  so  did  His  chosen.  His  best  beloved,  and  so  too  must  we. 
We  have  still  His  word  to  be  to  us  as  the  angelic  whisper  was 
to  our  ancestors.     Their  hope  is  ours,  and  their  reward. 

Few  other  events  mark  the  life  of  Sarah.  The  Most  High 
had  brought  her  forth  from  the  trials,  anxieties,  and  doubts  of 
previous  years.  He  had,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  fulfilled  His 
word,  and  bestowed  on  her  the  blessed  gift  for  which,  in  the 
midst  of  happiness,  she  had  pined.  Continuing  His  loving 
kindness.  He  lengthened  her  days  much  beyond  the  usual  sum 
of  mortality,  that  she  might  rear  her  child  to  manhood,  and 
receive  all  the  blessed  fruit  of  her  maternal  care  in  Isaac's  deep 
love  and  reverence  for  herself.     In  a  mere  superficial  perusal 


V2  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

of  the  life  of  Sarah,  as  read  in  our  Sabbath  portions,  we  are 
likely  to  overlook  much  of  the  consoling  proofs  of  the  Eternal's 
compassionating  love  for  His  female  children,  which  it  so  power- 
fully reveals.  Sarah  was  ninety  years  of  age  when  Isaac  was 
born.  In  the  course  of  nature,  ten  or  twelve  years  more  would 
either  have  closed  her  mortal  career,  or  rendered  it,  from  the 
infirmities  of  so  great  an  age,  a  burden  to  herself  and  all  around 
her.  There  was  no  need  of  her  preservation  to  forward  the 
decrees  of  the  Lord.  In  giving  birth  to  the  child  of  promise, 
her  part  was  fulfilled,  and  at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  the  boy 
might  have  done  without  her.  But  God  is  love,  and  the 
affections  of  His  children  are,  in  their  strength  and  purity, 
peculiarly  acceptable  to  Him.  He  never  bestoweth  happiness 
to  withdraw  it;  and,  therefore,  to  perfect  the  fehcity  of  Sarah 
and  her  child.  His  tenderness  preserved  her  in  life  and  vigor 
seven  and  thirty  years  after  she  had  given  him  birth.  In  this 
simple  feet  we  trace  the  beneficent  and  tender  Father,  sympa- 
thizing not  alone  in  every  grief  and  i^ang,  but  m  every  joy  and 
aftection  of  His  creatures.  We  feel  to  our  heart's  core  the  truth 
of  the  words  of  Moses,  "  Who  hath  God  so  near  to  him"  as 
Israel  ?  What  nation  can  so  trace,  so  claim  the  love  of  the 
Eternal  ? 

Nor  was  the  preservation  of  Sarah  the  only  proof  of  our 
Father's  loving  tenderness  towards  her,  and  of  His  condescend- 
ing sympathy  with  the  love  she  bore  her  child.  The  trial  of 
faith  in  the  sacrifice  of  his  son  was  given  to  the  father  ;  but  the 
mother  was  spared  the  consuming  agony  which  must  have  been 
her  portion,  even  had  her  faith  continued  strong.  God  had 
compassion  on  the  feebler,  weaker  nature  of  His  female  servant. 
He  demanded  not  from  her  that  which  He  knew  the  mother 
could  not  bear.  He  spared  her,  in  His  immeasurable  love,  the 
suft'ering  which  it  pleased  Him  to  infiict  upon  the  fether, — suf- 
fering and  temptation  not  to  satisfy  the  Lord,  for  His  omniscience 
knew  that  His  faithful  servant  would  not  fail ;  but  to  prove  to 
future  ages  the  mighty  power  of  spiritual  faith  and  love,  even 
while  in  the  mortal  clay. 

In  the  early  part  of  his  spiritual  career,  even  Abraham's  faith 
would  in  all  probability  have  failed.  He  was  7iot  supernaturally 
endowed  with  divine  grace  and  strength.  All  through  his  life 
we  can  trace  his  gradual  advance  and  improvement,  till  his 
faith  and  love  arrived  at  the  climax  which  permitted  even  the 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  73 

offered  and  unmurmuring  sacrifice  of  his  dearly  beloved  and 
now  only  child.  Even  in  this  we  trace  the  guiding  and  foster- 
ing love  of  the  Lord — demanding  not  more  than  He  knew  could 
be  given,  and  measuring  the  trial  of  faith  according  to  the 
advancing  strength  of  His  servant,  each  one  more  than  the  last. 
But  this  consideration  has  more  to  do  with  Abraham  individually 
and  Israel  at  large.  It  is  His  loving  kindness  manifested  towards 
Sarah  that  we,  her  female  descendants,  must  take  to  our  hearts, 
thence  to  derive  ahke  strength  and  consolation.  The  conviction 
of  the  Eternal's  love  for  us  individually  is  necessary  for  woman's 
happiness,  and  peculiarly  adapted  to  its  bestowal. 

It  is  woman's  nature  to  yearn  and  droop  for  love — to  shrink 
in  agony  from  a  lonely  path — to  long  for  some  supporting  arm 
on  which  to  rest  her  weakness ;  and  it  is  woman's  doom  too 
often  to  find  on  (arth  no  loving  rest,  and  therefore  is  her  lot  so 
sad.  But  when  she  can  once  realize  that  she  is  the  subject  of  a 
love  as  immeasurably  superior  in  consolation,  strength,  and 
changeless  sympathy,  to  that  of  man,  as  the  heaven  is  above  the 
earth : — when  she  can  once  feel  she  has  a  friend  who  will  never 
"  leave  her  nor  forsake" — in  whose  pitying  ear  she  may  pour 
forth  trials  and  griefs,  either  petty  or  great,  which  she  would 
not  even  if  she  might  confide  to  man,  secure  not  only  of  pity 
but  of  healing — when  she  is  conscious  that  she  is  never  lonely 
— never  left  to  her  own  weakness,  but  in  her  every  need  will 
have  strength  infused — then,  then  is  she  so  blessed  that  she  is 
no  more  lonely,  no  more  sad !  And  the  word  of  God  will  give 
us  this  thrice  blessed  consolation,  not  in  His  gracious  promises 
alone,  though  they  in  themselves  would  be  sufficient,  but  in  His 
dealings  with  his  creatures. 

As  the  ancestor  of  His  beloved,  we  find  Sarah's  death  and 
age  particularly  recorded ;  being  the  first  woman  of  the  Bible 
whose  death  and  burial  are  mentioned.  The  deep  grief  of  her 
husband  and  son  are  simply  but  touchingly  betrayed  in  the 
brief  words,  "  And  Abraham  came  to  mourn  for  Sarah,  and  to 
weep  for  her ;  "  and,  at  a  later  period,  not  till  his  marriage  with 
Rebekah,  "  and  Isaac  was  comforted  after  his  mother's  death." 
Words  that  portray  the  beauty  and  afiection  of  Sarah's  domestic 
character,  and  confirm  our  belief  that,  although  ,  perhaps 
possessing  many  of  the  failings  of  her  sex,  she  was  yet  a  help 
meet  for  Abraham — a  tender  and  judicious  parent  to  her  son 
— and  a  kind,  indulgent  friend  to  the  large  household  of  which  she 


74  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

was  the  mistress.  Her  noble  or  rather  princely  rank,  received 
as  it  had  been  direct  from  the  Lord,  is  still  more  strongly 
proved  by  the  intercourse  between  Abraham  and  the  sons  of 
Ileth,  when  seeking  from  them  a  place  to  bury  his  dead  : 
"  Hear  us,  my  lord,''  is  tlieir  reply,  "  thou  art  a  mighty  prince 
of  God  amongst  us  ;  in  the  choicest  of  our  sepulchres  bury 
thy  dead ; "  aud  it  was  with  difficulty  Abraham  could  elude  the 
oftered  gift,  and  procure  the  cave  as  a  purchase.  His  princely 
rank,  however,  and  in  consequence  that  of  his  wife,  we  see  at 
once  acknowledged,  even  by  strangers,  and  the  promise  of  the 
Lord,  expressed  in  changing  the  name  of  Sarai  into  Sarah, 
clearly  fulfilled. 

The  grief  of  Isaac  appears  to  have  la-sted  yet  longer  than 
that  of  his  father,  and  beautifully  illustrates  the  love  between 
the  mother  and  son.  Abraham,  advanced  in  years  and  spiritual 
experience,  felt  less  keenly  the  mere  emotions  of  humanity ;  lie 
was  convinced  that  Sarah  had  only  gone  before  him  to  that  world 
in  which,  from  his  gi'eat  age,  he  would  no  doubt  speedily  join 
her.  His  many  duties — his  close  communion  with  the  Elernal 
— enabled  him  to  rouse  himself  sooner  from  the  grief,  which 
at  first  was  equally  severe  ;  but  Isaac  was,  according  to  the 
patriarchal  reckoning  of  time,  still  a  very  young  man,  at  the 
age  when  feeling  is  keener,  less  controlled  than  at  any  other ; 
and  when,  though  spiritual  comfort  is  great,  human  emotions 
will  have  full  vent.  Except  the  three  days'  journey  to  Mount 
Moriah  with  his  father,  Isaac  does  not  appear  to  have  been 
separated  a  single  day  from  his  mother ;  and  her  care,  her 
guiding  and  fostering  love,  had  so  entwined  her  round  his 
heart,  that  for  three  years  after  her  death  her  son  could  find 
no  comfort.  How  exalted  and  lovely  must  have  been  that 
mother's  character  to  demand  such  a  term  of  mourning  from 
her  son  ;  whose  youth  and  sex  would,  in  some,  have  speedily 
roused  him  from  sorrow,  or  urged  its  forgetfulness  in  scenes  of 
pleasure  1 

We  have  little  more  to  add  on  the  spiritual  lesson  and  divine 
consolation  which  Sarah's  life  presents  to  her  female  descend- 
ants, than  those  hints  already  given.  Differently  situated  as 
we  are,  with  regard  to  station,  land,  and  customs,  we  may  yet 
imitate  her  faithfulness  in  all  her  household  duties — her  love 
and  reverence  to  her  husband — her  tenderness  to  her  child — 
her  quiet,  unpretending,  domestic,  yet  dignified  fulfilment  of 


PERIOD      I. SARAH.  76 

all  whicli  she  vv.ii  c.illed  upon  to  do.  We  may  learn  from  her 
to  set  no  value  on  personal  charms,  save  as  they  may  enhance 
the  gratification  of  those  who  love  us  best ;  or  of  rank  and 
station,  save  as  they  demand  from  us  yet  deeper  gratitude 
towards  God,  and  more  extended  usefulness  towards  man.  We 
may  learn  too  from  her  history  that  it  is  better  to  wait  for  the 
Lord — to  leave  in  His  hands  the  fulfilment  of  our  ardent  wishes 
— than  to  seek  to  compass  them  by  human  means.  We  may 
trace  and  feel  that  nothing,  in  truth,  is  too  wonderful  for  the 
Lord ;  that  He  will  do  what  pleaseth  Him,  however  we  may 
deem  it  hopeless  and  in  vain.  Direct  revelations,  as  vouchsafed 
to  Sarah,  indeed  we  have  not,  but  God  has,  in  His  deep  mercy, 
granted  us  His  word — the  record  of  all  He  has  done — that 
we  may  feel  He  is  still  our  God  ;  and  though  He  worketh  now 
in  secret — for  our  sins  have  hid  from  us  His  ways — yet  He 
worketh  for  us  still,  and  hath  compassion  and  mercy  and  love 
for  each  of  us  individually,  even  as  He  had  for  Sarah,  and  her 
bondwoman  Hagar.  All  these  to  us,  as  women,  her  history 
reveals  :  as  women  of  Israel,  oh  !  yet  more.  It  is  of  no  stranger 
in  race,  and  clime,  and  faith  we  read.  It  is  of  our  own — of 
one  from  whom  Israel  hath  descended  in  a  direct,  unshadowed 
line — of  one — -the  beloved  and  cherished  partner  of  that 
chosen  servant  and  beloved  friend  of  the  Eternal,  for  whose 
sake  revelation  was  given  to  mankind — Israel  made  not  alone 
the  nation,  but  the  first-born  of  the  Lord  ;  and  that  law 
bestowed,  which  revealed  a  God  of  "  love,  long-suffering  and 
gracious,  plenteous  in  mercy  and  truth  ;  " — instructed  us  how 
to  tread  our  earthly  path,  so  as  to  give  happiness  to  ourselves 
and  fellow-creatures — to  be  acceptable  to  Him  ; — and  pointed 
with  an  ange^ -finger  to  that  immortal  goal,  where  man  shall 
live  for  ever  ! 

Is  it  nothing  to  be  the  lineal  descendants  of  one  so  favored 
— nothing  to  hold  in  our  hands  and  shrine  in  our  hearts,  the 
record  of  her  life  from  whom  the  race  of  promise  sprang? 
Nothing,  to  peruse  the  wonderful  manifestations  of  the  Lord's 
love  to  her — to  feel  that  from  Him  direct  was  Sarah's  patent 
of  nobility,  and  yet  possess  the  privilege  of  being  her  descend- 
ant? Will  the  women  of  Israel  feel  this  as  nothing?  Will 
they  disdain  their  princely  birth,  their  heavenly  heritage  ? 
Will  they  scorn  to  look  back  on  Sarah  as  their  ancestor,  and 
yet  long  for  earthly  distinctions,  earthly  rank  ?     No !  oh,  no  ! 


76  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

Let  us  but  think  of  these  things,  of  those  from  whom  we  have 
descended,  and  our  minds  will  become  ennobled,  our  hearts 
enlarged.  We  shall  scorn  the  falso  shame  which  would  descend 
to  petty  meannesses  to  hide  our  faith,  and  so  exalt  us  in  the 
sight  of  a  Gentile  world.  Humbled,  cast  off  for  a  little 
moment  as  we  are — liable  to  persecution,  scorn,  contumely — to 
be  "  despised  and  rejected  "  of  men — to  bear  the  burden  of 
affliction  from  all  who  choose  to  afflict — still,  still  we  cannot 
lose  our  blessed  heritage  unless  we  cast  it  off ;  we  cannot  be 
deprived  of  our  birthright  unless,  like  Esau,  we  exchange  it  for 
mere  worldly  pelf,  and  momentary  (because  earthly)  gratifica- 
tion. We  are  still  Israelites — still  the  chosen,  the  beloved,  the 
ARISTOCRACY  of  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER  HL 

R  E  B  E  K  A  H, 


In  the  same  beautiful  country  whence,  nearly  seventy  years 
previous,  the  sou  of  Terah  had  been  called  by  the  divine  com- 
mand, still  dwelt  the  children  of  his  brother,  Nahor.  Contrary 
to  the  long  period  of  childlessness  which  had  been  the  portion 
of  Abraham,  eight  sons  were  born  unto  Nahor.  And  when 
tidings  of  his  family  again  reached  the  patriarch,  just  after  the 
offered  sacrifice  of  his  son,  he  heard  that  his  brother  was  also  a 
grandfather — Bethuel,  one  of  his  sons  having  married,  and 
possessing  sons  and  one  fair  daughter.  The  many  wanderings 
of  Abraham,  the  distance  to  which  he  had  removed,  and  the 
almost  impossibility  of  obtaining  reciprocal  intelligence,  had,  of 
course,  prevented  family  intercourse.  Yet,  by  the  notice  taken 
of  Abraham's  having  unexpectedly  received  intelligence  of  his 
kindred,  and  also  by  the  momentous  events  recorded  in  the  xxiv. 
chapter,  it  is  evident  that  both  Abraham  and  Nahor  retained  a 
vivid  recollection  of,  and  continued  affection  towards  each  other 
— an  aflfecting  illustration  of  the  doctrine  we  so  earnestly  uohold 


PERIOD      I. REBEKAH.  77 

— that  Holy  Writ  never  fails  to  inculcate — alike  by  precept, 
character,  and  narrative — the  ascendency,  necessity,  and  beauty 
of  the  natural  affections.  Thoug-h  elected  to  know  and  serve 
the  Lord,  and  to  promulgate  the  knowledge  of  the  true  religion 
throuo'hout  the  world,  still,  no  forgetfulness,  no  contempt  of  the 
less  favored  of  his  father's  house,  actuated  Abraham.  In  simple, 
questionless  obedience  to  his  God,  he  had  departed  from  all  the 
haunts,  the  friends  of  his  youth  ;  but  to  a  disposition  so  strongly 
affectionate  as  his  own,  often  and  often  must  the  yearnings  have 
returned,  to  learn  somewhat  of  the  brother  of  his  love.  The 
characters  of  the  Bible  are  all  Unman  :  though  we  are  but  too 
apt  to  judge  them  by  any  and  every  other  test  than  that  of 
humanity.  Religion,  instead  of  deadening,  ever  deepens  and 
strengthens  mere  human  feelings.  No  one  has  ever  yet  truly 
and  devotedly  loved  God  without  feeling  every  natural  affection 
heightened  and  more  precious.  Indifference  in  any  one  single 
point  is  utterly  banished.  It  cannot  exist  with  true  spirituality  ; 
and  therefore  do  we  always  find  in  the  Bible,  the  strongest, 
most  affectionate  feelings  actuating  the  chosen  servants  of  the 
Lord. 

From  a  careful  consideration  of  this  portion  of  Bible  history, 
and  of  Laban's  family  in  the  sequel,  it  appears  probable  that 
Abraham  had  other  reasons  besides  those  of  kindred  for  wishing 
his  son  to  choose  a  wife  from  the  daughters  of  Mesopotamia, 
instead  of  those  of  Canaan.  Had  the  patriarch's  kindred  been 
merely  idolatrous  as  the  other  families  of  the  earth,  it  is  not  likely 
that  the  mere  recital  of  the  steward  should  have  called  forth 
Laban  and  Bethuel's  answering  exclamation — "The  thing  pro- 
ceeded from  the  Lord,  we  cannot  speak  unto  thee  bad  or  good  !" 
— nor  many  years  afterwards,  in  Laban's  intercourse  with  his 
nephew,  his  entreaty,  "  Tarry  with  me,  for  I  have  learned  by 
experience  that  the  Lord  hath  blessed  me  for  thy  sake."  It 
would  seem  from  these  simply  recorded  facts,  that  though  they 
worshipped  images,  which  are  referred  to  more  than  once  in 
the  sequel,  their  religion  was  certainly  purer  than  that  of  the 
Canaanites.  It  was  from  his  father's  house  Abraham  had  been 
elected  and  called  by  the  Almighty.  His  firm  rejection  and 
abhorrence  of  idols,  his  meek  and  gentle  un-upbraiding  conduct, 
his  departure  in  simple  obedience  to  an  unknown  Being, — all 
this  was  probably  remembered  and  so  commented  upon  by  his 
kindred,  that  his  memory  had  more  influence  than  his  presence ; 


78  THE      WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

and  vague  notions  of  the  religion  and  the  God  whom  he  had 
followed  and  preached,  mingled  with  the  image-worship  which 
they  still  retained.  These  notions,  very  possibly  strengthened 
by  the  rumors  of  Abraham's  continued  communings  with  this 
mysterious  God,  and  the  many  manifestations  of  a  superhuman 
agency  vouchsafed  to  him,  which,  by  slow  degrees,  reached  even 
Mesopotamia,  prepared  them  to  acknowledge  and  even  believe 
in  Him  ;  though  from  ignorance  as  to  the  manner  of  worship 
which  could  be  acceptable  to  a  Being  so  awful  and  invisible, 
they  adhered  to  the  worship  of  their  fathers. 

Abraham  no  doubt  felt  that  it  would  be  easy  to  impart  to 
the  daughter  of  such  a  race,  the  true  and  spiritual  religion  of 
which  the  Patriarch's  own  family  was  the  only  witness.  There 
would  be  no  fear  of  her  retaining  and  secretly  promulgating  the 
impure  and  idolatrous  notions  which  would  undoubtedly  have 
been  the  case  with  the  daughters  of  Canaan ;  and  this,  acting 
powerfully  on  the  aflfecting  recollections  of  kindred  and  home, 
appears  to  me  the  real  cause  of  Abraham's  intense  anxiety  to 
take  a  wife  for  his  son  Isaac  from  the  daughters  of  his  father's 
house. 

Meanwhile  the  daughter  of  Bethuel  had  grown  into  beautiful 
womanhood,  beloved  and  clier'shed  alike  by  her  parents  and 
brothers,  and  pursuing  with  cheerful  content  and  affection  the 
simple  routine  of  domestic  life.  There  is  no  mention  in  Scrip- 
ture of  her  having  ever  been  sought  in  marriage  before  the  ofler 
of  Isaac.  We  are  rather  to  suppose,  that  she  was  scarcely  seen 
or  known  beyond  the  precincts  of  her  father's  establishment; 
and  as  this  was  the  case  also  with  the  daughters  of  Laban, 
some  years  afterwards,  the  supposition  of  their  superiority  to  the 
other  heathen  nations  is  confirmed. 

The  daily  employments  of  the  young  females  of  the  East 
appear  to  have  been  completely  domestic;  and  in  obedience  to 
these  daily  duties  we  find  Rebekah  one  evening  going  as  usual 
to  the  well  with  her  pitcher  on  her  shoulder  to  draw  water. 
The  group  of  strangers  beside  the  well  must  have  struck  her  as 
something  remarkable,  but  we  do  not  find  that  she  in  any 
way  loitered  or  wavered  in  the  steady  performance  of  her  task. 

"And  the  damsel  was  very  fair  to  look  upon,  a  virgin:  and 
she  iverit  down  to  the  well,  and  filled  her  pitcher  and  came  up. 
And  the  servant  ran  to  meet  her,  and  said,  Let  me,  I  pray  thee, 
drink  a  little  water  of  thy  pitcher.     And  she  said.  Drink,  my 


PERIOD       I. RKBKKAH.  79 

lord :  and  she  let  down  her  pitcher  upon  her  hand,  and  gave 
him  drink.  And  when  she  had  done  giving  him  drink,  she 
said,  I  will  draw  water  for  thy  camels  also,  until  they  have 
done  drinking.  And  she  hasted  and  emptied  her  pitcher  into 
the  trough,  and  ran  again  unto  the  well  to  draw  water,  and 
drew  for  all  his  camels." 

Among  the  many  little  exquisite  touches  of  artless  and  gentle 
nature  with  which  the  Bible  abounds,  none  surpass  this  for 
truth  and  beauty.  The  same  unsophisticated  nature  that  led 
her  quietly  to  pursue  her  duty,  without  turning  to  the  right 
hand  or  to  the  left,  also  prompted  the  active  and  cordial  kind- 
ness to  the  stranger  when  he  addressed  her,  and  the  respectful 
deference  to  his  age  and  sex  which  the  words  "  Drink,  my  lord," 
imply.  It  was  the  quiet  self-possession,  the  modest  ease  and 
frankness,  the  total  disregard  of  self,  alike  with  regard  to  per- 
sonal trouble  as  to  the  impression  her  own  beautiful  face  and 
form  might  make,  which  ever  proceed  from  a  proper  self-esteem, 
without  which  no  woman,  however  situated,  can  happily  or  with 
propriety  pass,  through  life.  She  not  only  gave  refreshment  to 
the  steward,  but  filled  the  trough  for  the  weary  camels  to  drink 
also.  Many  times  must  she  have  ascended  and  descended  to 
the  well,  burdened  with  a  weighty  pitcher — a  fair  and  gentle 
girl,  while  so  many  strong  men  were  standing  round — but 
they  were  strangers  and  travellers,  and  she  was  in  her  own 
land. 

Well  might  Eliezer,  "  wondering  at  her,  hold  his  peace,  to 
wit  whether  the  Lord  had  made  his  journey  prosperous  or  not." 
It  was  difficult  to  believe  that  the  prayer  he  had  scarcely  con- 
cluded before  Rebekah  appeared,  should  so  speedily  be  answered ; 
and  it  was,  no  doubt,  with  some  little  trembling  he  asked, 
"  Whose  daughter  art  thou  ?  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  is  there 
room  in  thy  father's* house  for  us  to  lodge  in?"  and  how  must 
his  heart  have  bounded  with  returning  confidence  at  the  artless 
reply  :  "  I  am  the  daughter  of  Bethuel,  the  son  of  Milcah,  which 
she  bare  unto  Nahor.  She  said  moreover  unto  him,  We  have 
both  straw  and  provender  enough,  and  room  to  lodge  in."  Our 
ancient  fathers,  with  much  justice,  suppose  that  the  splendid 
presents  of  the  steward  followed  this  announcement,  and  were 
not  given,  as  we  might  imagine  from  the  general  translations 
of  the  Bible,  before  he  knew  her  name.  They  had  been 
intrusted  to  him  for  the  bride  of  Isaac ;  and  therefore,  it  was 

VOL.    I.  5 


80  THE       AVOMEN       O*"       ISRAEL. 

not  likely  he  should  bestow  them  on  any  one,  however  beautiful 
and  hospitable,  unless  perfectly  convinced  that  she  was  the 
maiden  destined  so  to  be.  The  little  conversation  between 
them,  and  even  the  steward's  fervent  ejaculation  of  thanksgiv- 
ing, probably  took  place  while  the  camels  were  drinking  ;  and 
it  was  when  they  had  done,  "  that  the  man  took  a  golden 
earring  of  half  a  shekel  weight,  and  the  bracelets  for  her  hands 
of  ten  shekels  weight  of  gold."  Greatly  must  the  maiden  have 
marvelled,  not  only  at  the  richness  of  the  presents,  but  that 
they  should  be  oft'ered  at  all ;  and,  true  to  the  almost  childish 
nature  which  the  whole  narration  displays,  "  she  ran  and  told 
them  of  her  mother's  house  these  things." 

It  is  by  some  commentators  considered  strange,  I  believe,  that 
in  all  which  follows,  Laban,  not  Bethuel,  should  be  the  principal 
actor.  The  Bible  appears  to  tell  us,  that  Laban  was  decidedly 
the  head  of  his  father's  house  ;  and,  as  there  is  no  mention  what- 
ever of  Rebekah's  father,  no  reference  to  any  relation  but  her 
mother  and  brother,  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  she  had  a 
father  living,  the  Bethuel  who  is  mentioned  being  possibly  a 
younger  brother,  and  one  of  very  inferior  consequence. 

We  have  already  perceived  that  Rebekah  "  told  them  of  her 
mother's  house."  And  now,  without  any  notice  whatever  of  a 
father,  we  read,  that  "  Rebekah  had  a  brother  whose  name  was 
Laban."  And  when  he  saw  the  earring  and  bracelets  on  his 
sister's  hands,  and  when  he  heard  her  words,  he  came  unto  the 
man  who  still  stood  with  his  camels  beside  the  well,  and  accosted 
him,  net  only  as  one  who  was  master,  with  independent  author- 
ity, bu'.  with  an  exclamation  which  confirms  our  previous 
suggestion,  that  some  vague  notions  of  Abraham's  God  had 
reached  even  Mesopotamia.  The  hurried  narration  of  his  sister 
would  not  have  been  s  iflBcient  incentive  for  such  greeting  ; — 
"  Come  in,  thou  blessed  of  the  lord  ;  wherefore  standest  thou 
■without?  for  I  have  prepared  the  house,  and  room  for  the 
camels.  And  the  man  came  into  the  house,  and  he  ungirded 
his  camels.  And  they  gave  straw  and  provender  for  the  camels, 
and  water  to  wash  his  feet,  and  the  men's  feet  who  were  with 
him.  And  they  set  meat  before  him  to  eat :  but  he  said,  I  will 
not  eat  till  I  have  said  mine  errand.  And  he  (Laban)  said, 
Speak  on." 

Laban,  as  the  generous,  unsuspicious  host,  had  performed  his 
part.     And  now,  the  s,ervant  of  Abraham  failed  not  to  perform 


PERIOD       I. REBEKAII.  81 

his.  Earnest  in  his  master's  cause,  his  mission  occupying  alike 
heart  and  mind, — convinced  that  he  was  in  the  Lord's  lands, 
he  would  not  wait  till  hunger  was  appeased  and  weariness  sub- 
dued, but  at  once  spoke ;  his  first  words  refusing  all  honor  to 
himseh'  by  the  simple  declaration  ip2i^  tin-ina  n3:>,  "  Servant 
of  Abraham  am  I."  It  was,  indeed,  a  wondrous  tale  to  which 
the  family  of  Bethuel  listened.  By  the  words  of  Laban,  at  its 
conclusion,  "  Behold,  Rebekah  is  be/ore  thee,"  we  may  infer, 
that  the  maiden  and  her  mother  were  both  present;  thouo-b,  by 
no  word  or  exclamation  did  the  former  interrupt  a  narrative 
which  concerned  her  so  deeply  ;  yet  as  a  woman,  and  a  very 
young  one,  how  many  feelings  must  have  stirred  within  her,  as 
the  steward  spoke  ! 

Eliezer  told  how  his  venerable  master  had  grown  rich  and 
great  by  the  blessing  of  the  Lord,  who  had  also  granted  him, 
m  his  old  age,  a  son,  to  whom  Abraham  had  given  all  that  he 
had :— how  anxious  he  was  to  guard  his  son  from  a  connexion 
with  the  Canaanites,  and  to  take  him  a  wife  from  his  own 
kindred;  overruling  Eliezer's  objection— "  Peradventure,  the 
woman  will  not  follow  me," — by  the  solemn  assurance  that 
"  the  Lord,  before  whom  I  walk,  will  send  His  angel  before 
thee,  and  prosper  thy  way ;" — how,  in  obedience,  he  had  set 
forth,  and,  arriving  that  day  at  the  well,  had  prayed  to  the  Lord 
God  of  his  master  Abraham,  to  grant  that  the  virgin  who,  when 
he  wished  for  a  little  water  from  her  pitcher,  should  reply, 
"  Drink  thou,  and  I  will  draw  for  the  camels  also,"  should  be 
the  maiden  whom  the  Lord  had  appointed  for  his  master's 
son ;— how  his  prayer  had  been  heard  and  answered,  by  the 
appearance  and  kindly  courtesy  of  Rebekah  ;— and  he  con- 
cluded, "  I  bowed  down  my  head,  and  worshipped  the  Lord 
God  of  my  master  Abraham,  who  had  led  me  in  the  right  way, 
to  take  my  master's  brother's  daughter  for  his  son.  And  now, 
if  you  will  deal  kindly  and  truly  with  my  master,  tell  me ;  and 
if  not,  tell  me ;  that  I  may  turn  to  the  right  hand,  or  the  left." 

Deeply  indeed  must  the  simple  tale  have  afiected  its  hearers. 
The  rich,  the  princely  Abraham  had  remembered  and  yearned 
towards  his  father's  house  ;  even  those  who,  perchance,  in  his 
youth  had  reviled  and  persecuted  him  for  his  rejection  of  their 
idols ;  seeking  from  them,  in  preference  to  every  other,  a  wife 
for  his  son.  "  The  thing  proceedeth  from  the  Lord,"  was  their 
instant  answer.     "  We  cannot  speak  unto  thee  bad  or  good. 


82  THE       AV  O  M  E  N       OF      ISRAEL. 

Behold,  Rebekah  is  before  thee,  take  her,  and  go,  and  let  hef 
be  thy  master's  son's  wife,  as  the  Lord  hath  spoken." 

Blessed  thus  far,  the  richest  jewels  of  gold  and  silver  were 
presented  by  the  steward  to  the  youthful  bride,  her  mother  and 
brother.  Surely,  if  her  father  had  still  been  living,  he  would 
here  have  been  mentioned  :  but  neither  here,  nor  in  the  55th 
and  60th  verses  following,  which  are  important  as  relating  to 
her  influential  kindred,  is  there  any  notice  taken  of  his 
existence. 

One  night  only,  the  steward  accepted  the  lavish  hospitality 
of  his  hosts.  Anxious  to  report  the  success  of  his  mission,  he 
entreated,  "  Send  me  away  to  my  master."  But  natural  ties 
could  not  be  so  quickly  severed  without  pain.  How  could  they 
so  suddenly  part  with  the  cherished  darling  of  their  house — in 
all  probability  never  to  look  upon  her  again  ?  "  Let  the  damsel 
abide  with  us  a  few  days,"  her  mother  and  brother  said  ;  "  at 
least  ten,  after  that  she  shall  go."  But  the  steward  entreated 
them  to  "hinder  him  not,"  believing  that  to  loiter,  would  be 
"  displeasing  to  the  Lord  who  had  prospered  his  way."  And 
they  said, "  We  will  call  the  damsel,  and  inquire  at  her  mouth. ' 
Young  and  retiring  as  she  was,  her  own  voice  was  to  decide  the 
matter.  They  would  neither  retain  nor  send  her  away  without 
her  own  consent ;  thus  proving  that  even  family  authority,  in 
the  Bible,  was  an  authority  of  love.  "  And  calling  her,  they 
said.  Wilt  thou  go  with  this  man  ?  And  she  said,  I  will  go  ;" 
— a  brief  and  simple  answer,  yet  suited  alike  to  her  chai'acter 
and  the  occasion.  No  doubt,  there  will  be  some  to  exclaim 
against  the  reply  as  abrupt  and  unmaidenly ;  but  have  they 
quite  considered  all  the  circumstances  of  the  case?  Rebekah'a|. 
character,  at  this  period  of  her  life,  was  a  beautiful  blending  of|/ 
simplicity  and  truth.  Sought  by  Abraham  for  his  son,  ot 
whom,  in  all  probability,  she  had  already  favorably  heard ; 
selected  by  God  himself,  every  natural  feeling  of  woman  was 
satisfied  and  soothed.  Perhaps,  now,  in  this  pc-iod  of  ultra 
refinement,  such  simplicity  will  scarcely  be  understood.  Yet, 
then^  her  meek  assent  was  in  perfect  accordance  with  all  that 
had  passed  before.  Is  it  not  ordained,  even  by  God  himself — 
that  woman,  even  as  man,  should  leave  father,  mother,  and 
home,  to  cleave  unto  her  husband  ?  Besides,  this  was  no 
engagement  of  mere  human  devising.  She  was,  unconsciously, 
the  instrument  in   the  Eternal's  hand  to  further  His  decrees 


PERIOD        I  . R  E  B  E  K  A  H  .  83 

And  her  brief  assent  was  his  inspiration,  as  certainly  as  all  the 
previous  incidents.  Nor  can  we  doubt  for  a  moment,  even 
while  she  declared  her  willingness  to  go,  that  natural  affections 
were  busy  within  her.  Have  not  our  readers  themselves  felt,  at 
times,  two  completely  o^iposing  feelings  filling  their  hearts  at 
once  ?  And  oh  !  how  blessed  would  it  be  at  such  times,  if  we 
could  but  realize  that  the  words,  fraught  with  a  pain  and 
anxiety  unknown,  unthought  of,  when  we  spoke  them,  proceed 
alone,  as  Rebekah's  "  I  will  go,"  from  the  guidance  of  the  Lord, 
and  that  therefore,  spite  of  all  the  sufferings  which  may  gather 
round  us,  they  will  in  the  end  be  blessed. 

Rebekah  had  accepted  the  presents  of  betrothal,  and  was 
therefore  already  of  the  femily  of  Abraham.  How  then  might 
his  steward  go  without  her  ?  It  was  not  her  part  to  detain  him 
on  his  way.  We  may  imagine  the  tears  of  affection  with 
which  the  fond  blessing  was  pronounced  by  her  brothers.  The 
mother,  though  still  present,  is  not  mentioned ;  for  her  prayers 
were  in  her  heart.  "  And  they  blessed  Rebekah,  and  said  unto 
her.  Thou  art  our  sister  ;  be  thou  the  mother  of  thousands  of 
millions,  and  let  thy  seed  possess  the  gates  of  those  which  hate 
them."  And  Rebekah  arose  (probably  from  the  detaining  arms 
of  her  kindred),  and  with  her  nurse,  and  attendant  damsels, 
sought  their  camels,  and  accompanied  the  steward  on  his  home- 
ward way. 

How  many  thoughts  must  have  crowded  the  heart  and  mind 
of  the  young  daughter  of  Bethuel  during  this  journey — the  home 
she  had  left,  and  the  home  she  was  about  to  seek — the  friends 
of  her  childhood,  and  those  unknown  ;  yet  towards  whom  she 
turned  with  the  yearning  to  love  and  be  beloved  :  probably 
hearing  from  the  lips  of  the  steward  so  much  of  his  young 
master,  as  to  render  him  in  her  mind  no  longer  a  stranger. 

Simply  and  beautifully  is  the  last  touch  to  this  portion  of  her 
history  given  by  the  inspired  historian.  Canaan  was  reached ; 
the  tents  of  the  patriarch  in  sight.  And  lifting  up  her  eves, 
Rebekah  beheld  a  man  walking  forth  in  the  fertile  tields  ;  bear- 
ing in  his  pensive  mind  and  measured  tread,  the  aspect  of  one 
in  holy  meditation.  It  was  eventide,  that  still  solemn  hour  of 
holy  musing,  sought  only  by  those  who  have  no  thought  from 
which  to  shrink,  who  can  call  up  sweet  dreamy  visions  of  the 
past — sad,  yet  how  inexpressibly  soothing.  That  holy  hour, 
when  the  soul  of  the  departed  comes  back  to  the  spirit  of  the 


84  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

bereaved,  holding  such  commune  as  must  proclaim  our  unioa 
with  the  invisible  world,  and  confirm  our  immortality.  The 
maiden  probably  guessed  who  it  was  on  whom  she  gazed.  But 
when  the  question  was  asked  and  answered  by  her  guide,  modesty, 
refinement,  simplicity,  and  that  respect  which  ever  springs  from 
the  heart,  all  impelled  her  to  "  light  oft'  her  camel,"  and  "  to  take 
a  veil  and  cover  herself." 

This  was  true  humility,  for  she  knew  her  own  dignity.  She 
demanded  no  more  respect  than  she  paid  herself.  She  waited 
no  ceremonious  introduction,  but  alighting  from  the  camel,  com- 
pletely shrouded  in  her  veil,  she  proved  by  the  one  action,  the 
respect  due  to  the  son  of  Abraham,  her  destined  husband,  and  by 
the  other  retained  her  own  gentle  dignity,  by  concealing  every-, 
charm,  till  the  servant's  tale  was  told,  and  Isaac  claimed  her  as 
his  bride.  Personal  beauty  was  in  this  case  as  nothing,  thoufir 
she  possessed  it  in  no  ordinary  degree.  Her  conduct  proceeded 
from  an  artless,  unsophisticated  nature,  timidly  shrinking  from 
the  eyes  of  him  whom  she  most  wished  to  please — a  desire  to 
conceal  the  very  beauty  which  she  must  have  yet  ardently  hoped 
that  he  might  prize ;  and  her  hope  was  fulfilled,  for  "  Isaac 
brought  her  into  his  mother  Sarah's  tent,  and  he  took  Rebekah, 
and  she  became  his  wife,  and  he  loved  her,  and  Isaac  was  com- 
forted after  his  mother's  death."  How  beautifully  do  those  few 
words  illustrate  the  extent  of  his  love  both  towards  his  mother 
and  wife  !  Though  three  years  had  passed  since  the  death  of  his 
mother,  he  yet  mourned  for  her.  Not  even  the  aftections  of  his 
father  could  satisfy  that  painful  yearning ; — not  even  religion, 
with  her  host  of  soothing  thoughts  and  blessed  images,  could 
wholly  comfort  him,  though  she  gave  him  strength  to  endure, 
and  spiritual  love  to  bless  the  hand  which  smote.  Nor  is  this 
a  contradictory  assertion.  Religion  leads  us  to  Him  who  alone 
can  heal,  in  deep  and  most  fervid  prayer  ; — that  prayer  brings 
us,  from  Him  whose  deep  mercy  hears  and  answers,  sup])ort  and 
consolation,  by  the  conviction  that  we  are  not  lonely — that  we 
shall  meet  again  those  whom  we  love  in  His  presence,  who  is 
love  itself;  and  this  is  comfort.  The  comfort  here  alluded  to 
was  for  the  yearnings  of  the  mortal ;  the  immortal  could  realize 
consolation,  the  mortal  could  not.  Though  it  be  in  very  truth 
the  invlnible  soul  we  love,  yet  we  become  so  knit  with  the  mortal 
habitation  of  that  soul,  that  we  cannot  feci  it  has  perished  from 
our  sight  for  ever,  without  an  agony  of  heart  that  time  and 


P  K  H  I  O  D        I  .  R  E  B  K  K  A  II  .  85 

prayer,  and  constant  communings  with  the  invisible  Spirit  alone, 
can  in  any  way  assuage.  Nor  is  there  one  portion  in  the  Holy 
Bible  which  would  tell  us  tliat  God  condemns  such  grief.  If 
with  the  whole  fervor  of  our  immortal  being,  we  can  bow  in 
much  submission,  faith,  and  love,  unto  His  will,  He  condemns  not, 
nay,  feels  compassionate,  and  in  His  own  good  time  heals  the 
agony  which  our  human  nature  feels  through  the  human  agency 
of  wife,  or  friend,  or  cliild.  And  so  it  was  with  Isaac.  Wedded 
as  he  was  to  the  memory  of  his  mother,  no  ordinary  woman 
could  have  so  gained  his  love  as  to  give  him  comfort,  and  fill  up 
the  aching  void  which  had  existed  three  long  years.  He  must 
have  seen  in  Rebekah  when  she  first  became  his  wife,  a  reflection 
of  Sarah's  endearing  qualities  ;  and  united  as  these  were  to  youth 
and  beauty,  inspired  still  dee}3er  and  dearer  emotions  than  he  had 
ever  experienced  before. 

To  some  dispositions,  this  sudden  elevation  in  a  social  and 
domestic  position  would  have  been  a  dangerous  ordeal ;  but 
neither  presumption,  arrogance,  nor  pride,  appears  to  have  marked 
the  conduct  of  Rebekah.  The  same  steady  performance  of 
household  duty  manifested  in  her  girlhood,  probably  continued 
in  her  higher  and  more  responsible  station  ;  and  year  after  year 
found  her  caUnly  following  the  quiet  routine  of  daily  duty 
happily  to  herself  and  to  her  household.  And  here,  for  a  brief 
while,  we  would  pause  to  gather  the  sweet  blossoms  of  instruc- 
tion and  guidance  proffered  by  a  Father's  love,  which  Rebekuh's 
history,  thus  far  considered,  can  impart.  We  would  linger  a 
moment  on  the  past  ere  we  go  forward,  for  the  picture  must  be 
changed.  Yet  it  is  no  marvellous  or  incomprehensible  change — 
it  is  no  history  of  woman  in  an  era  so  long  past  that  we  wonder, 
and  scarce  believe — the  picture  is  too  perfect  even  now ; — it  is 
woman  then,  and  woman  now,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter. 

Although  from  the  wide  distinction  between  patriarchal  and 
modern  times,  our  position  and  duties  as  daughters  of  Israel 
can  never  resemble  those  of  Rebecca,  we  have,  like  her,  domestic 
duties  to  perforin,  and  a  station  not  only  to  fulfil  but  to  adorn, 
so  as  to  excite  towards  us  respect  and  love.  The  women  of  the 
Bible  are  forcibly  portrayed,  not  for  us  to  follow  them  exactly, 
for  that  we  could  not  do,  but  from  their  conduct  in  their 
respective  spheres  to  guide  us  in  ours ;  from  the  approval  or 
reproof  bestowed  directly  or  indirectly  upon  them,  to  teach  their 
descendants  what  is  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  our  heavenly 


86  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

Father  and  what  is  not ;  and  of  this  we  may  rest  assured  there 
is  no  contradiction  to  puzzle  us  in  the  Word  of  God.  The  pre- 
cepts  of  His  law  are  proved  by  the  practice  of  His  servants. 
"  Whatsoever  thy  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  all  thy  might," 
was  said  centuries  after  by  the  sage  monarch,  who,  in  obedience 
to  the  command  of  God  relating  to  Kings,  must  have  been 
acquainted  with  the  whole  of  His  law ;  and  that  precept  was 
exemplified  in  Rebecca's  conduct  at  the  well.  She  had  every 
temptation  to  turn  aside  a  few  moments  in  her  simple  task. 
Had  she  ever  accustomed  herself  to  encourage  wandering 
thoughts  in  her  difierent  eraployents,  to  turn  from  them  for 
every  frivolous  pretence,  she  would  never  have  withstood  the 
temptation  of  idling  away  her  time  with  the  goodly  looking 
strangers,  and  thus  demonstrated  a  character  totally  unfit  to  be 
the  ancestress  of  God's  chosen  race.  But  as  she  went  down  to 
the  well  and  filled  her  pitcher,  and  came  up,  "  neither  turning 
to  the  right  nor  to  the  left,"  so  it  behoves  us  to  follow  our  daily 
duties,  would  we,  like  her,  receive  the  blessing  of  the  Lord.  It 
is  said  to  be  woman's  nature  ever  to  be  unsteady — to  be  caught 
by  the  glare  of  every  new  object,  every  new  face — to  become 
frivolous  from  allowing  herself  in  youth  to  flutter  from  one 
employment  to  another,  seeking  but  sweets,  and  terrified  at  the 
first  sight  of  all  that  may  seem  more  harsh  or  stern.  But  such 
frivolity  is  incompatible  with  the  regenerate  and  spiritual  woman 
whose  guidance  is  her  Bible,  whose  sustainer  is  her  God.  She 
feels  too  deeply  responsible  to  Him  for  every  hour  of  her  time 
to  squander  its  smallest  portion  needlessly  away.  She  seeks  to 
lo"e  Him  too  earnestly,  too  continually,  not  to  associate  the 
hope  of  His  approval  with  her  every  employment,  and  so  asso- 
ciated it  is  impossible  for  them  to  be  frivolously  followed  or 
lightly  interrupted  ;  and  if  domestic  duties  were  thus  performed 
by  the  young  daughter  of  a  house  who  knew  not  by  direct  reve- 
lation the  Lord,  how  much  more  devolves  upon  us  her  descend- 
ants, to  whom  the  Lord  himself  has  vouchsafed,  through  His 
holy  Word,  both  guidance  and  example  !  O  !  let  us  then,  in  our 
every  pursuit,  first  ponder  well  if  we  may  lay  it  before  our  God, 
and  upon  it  ask  His  blessing ;  and  if  we  truly  can,  let  us  pursue 
it  with  all  our  heart,  and  soul,  and  might,  if  we  would  indeed 
seek  the  loving  tenderness  of  our  God,  the  respect  of  the  world, 
and  of  ourselves. 

Nor  is  her  steadiness  the  only  i)ortion  of  Rebecca's  early 


PERIOD       1. REBEKAH.  8Y 

character  demanding  our  admiration.  The  winning  ana  obliging 
gentleness  with  which  she  met  the  stranger's  address  proceeded 
from  the  genuine  kindness,  the  real  politeness  of  an  utterly- 
unselfish  heart.  The  request  was  not  only  granted,  but  granted 
with  such  sweetness  of  manner  and  respectful  words  as  threefold 
to  enhance  the  kindness  of  the  deed.  The  beautiful  laws  con- 
tained in  the  32d,  3.3d,  and  34th  verses  of  the  19th  chapter  of 
Leviticus  had  not  then  been  issued,  yet  the  conduct  of  Rebecca 
was  a  practical  illustration  of  the  spi7'it  which  they  teach.  She 
paid  respect  to  age,  and  did  unto  the  stranger  even  as  if  he  had 
been  one  born  in  the  land  ;  and  this  we  may  all  do.  It  is  not 
enough  that  we  act  kindly,  and  mean  kindly,  in  our  intercourse 
either  with  friends  or  strangers.  We  must  make  manifest  kindly 
feeling  by  a  kindly  and  conciliating  manner.  At  a  period  when 
the  drift  of  education  sometimes  appears  to  condemn,  conquer, 
and  entirely  annihilate  feeling,  this  will  be  difficult,  for  widely 
different  is  the  manner  which  is  taught,  however  perfect  may  be 
its  propriety,  its  gentleness,  its  suavity,  to  that  which  springs 
from  the  heart,  and  has  its  origin  in  overflowing  and  unselfish 
feeling.  But  has  the  heart — has  feeling  anything  to  do  with 
our  behavior  to  a  perfect  stranger,  and  acquaintance  of  the  hour, 
whom  in  the  whole  course  of  our  life  we  may  never  meet  again  ? 
It  has,  and  it  may  be  productive  of  good,  both  to  ourselves  and 
others.  The  great,  the  good,  the  mighty  and  most  merciful 
Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  disdained  not,  even  in  the  midst  of 
this  stupendous  creation,  to  bid  the  earth  bring  forth  \i&v  Jlowers, 
not  to  serve  as  food,  or  shelter,  or  absolute  use  in  the  common 
meaning  of  the  word,  but  simply  to  beautify,  to  enliven,  to 
rejoice,  to  fling  a  gladness  and  a  sunshine  on  the  desert  waste 
and  weary  wilderness,  and  add  beauty  and  rejoicing  even  where 
all  around  is  joy;  and  as  flowers  to  the  earth,  so  is  kindliness 
to  man.  It  will  not  remove  grief,  nor  give  him  what  perchance 
he  needs,  but  it  may  cause  a  flower  to  spring  up  in  the  lonely 
recess  or  careworn  furrow  of  his  heart,  whose  memory  may 
linger  long  after  the  flower  itself  has  perished.  And  shall  we 
scorn  the  power  that  will  do  this?  Shall  we  think  a  flower  of 
half  an  hour's  growth  too  worthless  to  be  given,  too  trifling  to 
be  gathered  ?  Oh  1  let  us  uot  encourage  such  a  thought.  We 
may  know,  indeed,  nothing  of  the  stranger  with  whom,  for  a 
brief  hour,  we  may  be  thrown ;  but  that  very  ignorance  should 
urge  us  to  courtesy  and  kindliness.     His  course  may  have  been 

5* 


88  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

one  of  care,  liis  present  lot  a  waste,  and  a  gentle  tone  and  kind 
manner  may  be  to  him  as  the  flower  in  the  desert  vvihng  him  a 
brief  while  from  his  own  sad  thoughts.  Or  it  may  be  his  lot 
has  been  and  is  all  joy ;  and  yet  will  kindliness  be  sweet,  even 
as  the  flower  in  the  festive  hall,  or  in  the  pathway  of  tlie  bride  ; 
its  form  scarce  noticed  at  the  time,  yet  so  blending  with  its 
associated  images  as  in  memory  to  be  called  up  again  and  yet 
again.  We  are  not  placed  here  to  live  for  ourselves  alone,  and 
more  powerfully  than  aught  else,  if  it  spring  from  the  heart, 
and  has  its  birth  in  feeling^  will  a  kind  and  gentle  manner  rivet 
the  links  of  brotherhood,  bid  us  feel  we  are  all  cbildren  of  our 
common  Father,  and  so  strengthen  our  love  in  Him,  and  for 
each  other. 

On  us  more  especially,  aliens  and  exiles  from  our  own  land,  is 
manner,  as  the  mirror  of  the  heart,  incumbent.  There  was  a 
time,  but  lately  passed  away,  when  to  perform  this  duty  was 
impossible,  and  therefore  supposed  to  be  unnecessary.  When 
scorned,  persecuted,  condemned  as  the  very  scum  of  the  earth, 
hated  and  reproached,  it  was  as  utterly  impossible  for  us  to 
manifest  courtesy  and  kindness,  as  to  receive  them.  Hatred 
begets  hatred,  as  scorn  begets  scorn,  more  especially  when 
neither  emotion  may  be  avowed.  What  did  the  cringing  man- 
ner, the  abject  tone  of  the  persecuted,  tortured  Jew  conceal  ? 
Was  it  marvel  it  should  be  hatred  as  strong,  if  not  stronger, 
because  utterly  powerless,  than  that  of  his  cruel,  his  tyrannical 
oppressor  ?  But  now  that  in  some  enlightened  and  blessed 
realms  these  fearful  times  are  past,  and  the  right  hand  of 
fellowship  extended  to  us,  shall  the  exile  and  oppressed  refuse 
to  meet  in  amity  and  confidence,  the  sons  of  the  land  which 
gives  them  protection  and  home?  We  were  commanded  to 
show  kindness  to  a  stranger,  as  to  one  born  amongst  us.  That 
blessed  privilege  is  no  longer  ours,  for  we  are  strangers  in  a 
strange  land ;  yet  may  we  still  obey  the  spirit  of  the  law,  and 
in  the  cultivation  of  a  kindly  heart,  and  manifestation  of  a 
kindly  feeling,  let  us  remember  we  have  not  only  an  individual, 
but  a  national  character  to  support — that  a  brief  half  hour's 
intercourse  with  a  stranger  is  endowed  with  j^ower  to  exalt  or 
to  lower  the  cause  of  Israel ;  and  as  Rebekah's  kindly  cordi- 
ality was  blessed  to  her,  by  making  her  the  wife  of  Isaac,  and 
so  revealing  to  her  the  glorious  tidings  of  a  God  of  love,  so  may 
the  kindly  manner  of  the  youngest  daughter  of  Israel  be  blesaed 


PERIOD       I.  REBEKAII.  89 

to  her,  by  making  her  the  unconscious  instrument,  m  God's 
hand,  to  exalt  His  holy  faith,  and  proclaim  His  truth  in  the 
heart  and  mind  of  the  Gentiles  amongst  whom  she  dwells. 

Yet,  Rebekah's  courtesy  to  the  steward  demonstrates  neither 
presumption  nor  forwai'dness  incompatible  with  her  age  or  sex. 
We  find  her,  directly  her  brother  Laban  comes  forth,  retiring  to 
her  own  modest  station  in  her  mother's  tent,  and  claiming  no 
further  notice.  We  see,  therefore,  that  to  act  kindly  demands 
not  the  forsaking  our  natural  sphere.  We  are  not  to  look 
abroad  for  opportunities  to  act  as  Rebekah  did ;  but,  like  her, 
we  shall  find  them  without  leaving  our  home,  in  the  domestic 
and  social  intercourse  of  daily  life.  Let  us  ponder  well  upon 
these  things,  and,  as  daughters  of  Israel,  make  it  our  glory  and 
our  pride  to  do  our  simplest  duty  "  with  all  our  mig-ht ;"  our 
pleasure,  to  scatter  flowers  on  the  path  of  all  with  whom  we 
may  be  thrown ;  and  dwelling  with  meek  and  loving  content- 
ment in  our  appointed  sphere,  remember  that  the  cause  of  Israel 
is  our  own,  and  it  is  in  our  power  to  exalt  or  degrade  it. 

For  twenty  years,  the  lives  of  Rebekah  and  Isaac  appear  to 
have  passed  in  all  the  quiet  felicity  of  domestic  love  and  peace. 
Abraham  was  still  living,  happy  in  the  happiness  of  his  son 
Isaac ;  for  to  his  other  sons  "  Abraham  gave  gifts,  and  sent 
them  away  from  Isaac  his  son,  while  he  yet  lived,  eastward  unto 
the  east  country."  He  gave  them,  in  all  probability,  a  know- 
ledge of  the  Lord  enough  to  recognise  and  worship  him;  but  in 
Isaac,  Abraham  knew  was  the  promised  seed,  and  therefore  by 
him  was  the  aged  patriarch's  home.  Anxiously  he,  too,  must 
have  anticipated  the  birth  that  would  prolong  his  line,  but  from 
bis  personal  experience  in  "  waiting  for  the  Lord,"  his  feelings 
must  have  been  less  anxious  than  those  of  Isaac.  In  these 
twenty  years,  we  hear  of  no  temporal  disturbance  nor  divine 
interference,  as  in  the  earlier  life  of  Abraham  ;  but  that  spiritual 
communing  with  the  Lord,  and  improvement  in  knowledge  of 
and  faith  in  Him,  in  no  ways  slackened  or  diminished,  we  are 
called  upon  to  believe  by  the  simple  fact  of  Isaac  going  to 
"  entreat  the  Lord  for  his  wife,"  and  the  instant  answer  to  hia 
prayer.  Again  we  see  divine  interference,  not  what  is  called 
natural  causes,  operating  for  the  fulfilment  of  the  Eternal's 
promise  of  a  chosen  seed.  Jacob,  the  fether  of  the  twelve 
tribes,  from  one  or  other  of  whom  the  wandering  Hebrew  can 
RtiU  trace  descent  and  claim  the  promises  vouchsafed  unto  hia 


90  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

fathers — Jacob,  even  as  Isaac,  was  the  child,  not  alone  of 
promise,  but  of  prayer. 

Those  twenty  years  saw  Rebekah  as  we  last  beheld  her,  only 
matured  in  the  graces  of  womanhood,  and  so  grafted  on  the 
house  of  Abraham,  as  like  him  to  worship  and  know  the  great 
God  alone.  She  had  had,  as  yet,  no  temptation  to  swerve  aside 
from  the  straight  path  of  duty,  A  beloved  and  cherished  wife, 
daughter,  and  mistress,  her  life  passed  by  so  smoothly,  her  affec- 
tion so  devoted  to  one  first  object,  and  thence  calmly  emanating 
on  all  under  her  influence,  that  she  was,  as  every  other  woman 
in  a  similar  position  must  have  been,  still  entirely  io;norant  of 
the  shoals  and  quicksands  in  her  heart,  which  might  lead  to  sin, 
and  end  in  sorrow. 

Yet  her  first  action,  after  proof  was  given  of  the  Eternal's 
gracious  answer  to  her  husband's  prayer,  was  one  of  such  child- 
like simple  confidence  in  the  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Lord  to 
answer  all  of  doubt  and  fear,  that  to  reconcile  her  conduct  after- 
wards becomes  more  difficult.  Unusual  and  incomprehensible 
suffering  so  oppressed  her  as  to  raise  a  doubt  of  the  pro- 
mise being  then  about  to  be  fulfilled.  "  If  it  be  so,"  she 
thought,  "  why  am  I  thus  ?" — and  without  pause  or  hesitation, 
went  directly  "  to  inquire  of  the  Lord."  She  asked  no  advice, 
demanded  no  human  aid — but  in  heartfelt  prayer — for  in 
prayer  only  could  she  so  inquire — laid  before  Him  her  every 
emotion,  and  from  him  implored  reply.  We  would  humbly  ask 
those,  if  indeed  there  can  be  such,  who  deny  to  woman  an 
immortal  soul,  refuse  her  the  blessed  privilege  of  individual  and 
secret  commune  with  her  Creator,  and  believe  man's  prayer 
alone  omnipotent,  how  they  would  interpret  this  very  simple 
narration  ?  They  may  assert,  as  I  believe  some  commentators 
do,  that  it  was  through  Abraham  she  inquired  of  the  Lord,  and 
received  reply — but,  as  we  have  no  warrant  whatever  in  Scrip- 
ture, by  direct  word  or  implied  inference,  to  confirm  this  asser- 
tion, we  must  reject  it  altogether.  The  long  years  which 
Rebekah  had  passed  in  the  household  of  Abraham,  had  not 
flown  by  unused  and  spiritually  unimproved.  She  had  seen  the 
Great  and  Invisible  Being  acknowledged  and  adored.  She  had 
been  taught  by  example ;  and  we  may  be  scripturally  certain, 
though  the  fact  itself  is  not  mentioned,  by  precept  also.  The 
natural  impulse  of  humanity,  under  all  difficulties  and  suftering, 
is  to  i.ray — and  in  the  beautiful  simphcity  of  the  patriarchal 


PERIOD       I. REBEKAH.  91 

ages,  no  artificial  coldness,  no  appalling  scepticism,  no  disheart- 
ening doubt,  could  have  crowded  round  her,  whispering  th;it  the 
prayer  was  vain,  that  the  Creator  of  heaven  and  earth  was 
a  Being  too  far  removed  from  woman's  petty  griefs  to  listen  and 
give  reply.  In  the  simjjle  trusting  confidence  of  a  child,  she 
sought  the  Parent  whose  love  was  omnipotent  not  only  to 
understand  the  doubt  and  pain,  but  to  give  relief,  and  her  confi- 
dence was  answered.  How  that  gracious  answer  was  vouch- 
safed, whether  through  Abraham,  or  directly  to  herself,  is, 
I  believe,  an  argument — but  Scripture  bids  us  believe,  without 
hesitation,  the  latter — "  And  the  Lord  said  unto  heri^''  clear 
simple  words,  banishing  at  once  all  necessity  for  mediation, 
either  of  man  or  angel ;  words  almost  impossible,  even  wilfully 
to  be  misunderstood.  The  how  she  received  this  answer,  whe- 
ther through  the  medium  of  the  ear,  or  by  an  impression  on  the 
mind — can  be  of  very  little  consequence ;  and  is  one  of  those 
cavilling  inquiries  which  we  could  wish  banished,  ere  formed 
into  words ;  tending  as  they  do  to  till  up  the  mind  with  vain 
and  idle  speculations,  instead  of  the  pure  simple  truths  of  Scrip- 
ture. It  is  enough,  and  a  most  blessed  enough  for  us,  that  the 
"  Lord  said  unto  her,"  the  direct  answer  to  her  inquiring 
prayer.  The  words  were  mysterious — that  she  was  already  the 
mother  of  two  opposing  nations,  one  of  whom  should  be  stronger 
than  the  other — and  the  elder  should  serve  the  younger."  Yet, 
mysterious  as  they  must  have  been,  they  came  from  the  Lord. 
He  had  graciously  vouchsafed  to  explain  the  cause  of  her 
unusual  sutierings,  and  Rebekah  was  satisfied ;  for  we  find 
not  another  word  from  her  of  either  wonderment  or  complaint. 

And  oh  !  what  a  blessed  incentive  have  we  from  this  simple 
narrative,  in  all  our  griefs  and  suflferings,  bodily  or  mental, 
to  inquire  of  the  Lord — to  come  to  Him  as  our  ancestress, 
in  guileless  faith  and  simple-minded  prayer.  He  is  our  God  as 
He  was  hers — yea,  ours — exiles,  wanderers,  womkn  as  we  are, 
and  who,  with  the  holy  word  of  God  within  his  hand,  shall  dare 
to  refuse  to  us,  as  women,  as  Israelitish  women,  the  power,  the 
purity,  the  privilege  of  prayer  ?  Who  shall  dare  assert  that  we 
are  powerless  to  pray,  or  need  the  mediation  of  man,  to  bear  up 
our  petitions  to  the  throne  of  grace  ?  Mothers,  wives,  daughters 
of  Israel,  you  alone  must  prove  the  utter  falsity  of  this  charge  ! 
Before  the  law,  under  the  law,  during  the  captivity,  we  shall 


92  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

still  tiiid  the  Hebrew  woman  seeking  her  God  in  pra^'er , 
and  receiving  from  him  direct  reply.  Oh  !  shall  we  not  thus  prove 
that  we  have  a  soul  immortal  as  that  of  man — that  the  very 
breath  of  our  being,  the  light  of  our  path,  the  support  of 
strength,  is  prayer — that  prayer  which  brings  us  daily,  nay 
hourly,  in  commune  with  a  loving  Father,  whose  ttiider  sympa- 
thy is  endless  as  His  love.  Let  us  prove  we  need  not  Chris- 
tianity either  to  teach,  or  direct  us  how  to  pray — but,  turning 
to  the  blessed  pages  of  our  own  Bible,  make  manifest  that 
to  look  further  is  not  needed.  That  there  we  have  indeed  suffi- 
cient for  encouragement  and  hope  ;  for  confidence  and  faith. 
As  Rebekah  prayed,  so  too  may  we ;  and  as  our  Father 
answered  her,  so  will  He  us.  Not  indeed  with  word  direct,  but 
with  that  blessed  calm,  and  hope,  and  faith,  which  prayer 
only  can  bestow ;  and  with  that  heavenly  patience  which 
will  enable  us  to  "wait  for  the  Lord,"  in  the  firm  belief 
that  whatever  He  may  will  is  best.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
Rebekah  is  the  first  recorded  instance  of  woman's  immediate 
appeal  to  God,  and  the  condescending  reply. 

At  the  appointed  time  Isaac  and  Rebekah  became  parents 
of  twin  sons,  who  grew  and  flourished  ;  and  in  early  youth  dis- 
played a  contrariety  of  disposition  and  pursuits  which  must  have 
appeared  strange,  in  such  nearly  allied  relations,  had  it  not  been 
rendered  clearly  intelligible,  at  least  to  their  motlier  by  the 
previous  words  of  the  Lord.  But  yet  these  words  ao  not 
appear  to  me  sufficient  for  Rebekah  always  to  have  regarded 
Jacob  as  the  promised  seed.  The  promise,  or  rather  explana- 
tion, given  in  answer  to  her  prayer,  was  simply,  "  the  one 
people  shall  be  stronger  than  the  other,  and  the  elder  shall  serve 
the  younger ;"  not  as  was  the  case  with  Abraham,  when  the 
promised  se^d  was  specifically  named.  And  in  the  very  next 
revelation  which  was  vouchsafed  to  Isaac,  a  few  years  afterwards, 
we  read,  "  Sojourn  in  this  land,  and  I  will  be  with  thee,  and  will 
bless  thee  ;  for  unto  thee,  and  unto  thy  seed,  will  I  give  all 
these  countries,  and  I  will  perform  the  oath  which  I  sware  unto 
Abraham  thy  father.  And  I  will  make  thy  seed  to  multiply  as 
the  stars  of  heaven,  and  will  give  unto  thy  seed  all  the  coun- 
tries ;  and  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be 
blessed  ;"  and  again,  the  last  verse  of  this  same  xxvii.  chapter — 
the  Lord   appeared    unto   him  the  same  night,  and  said,  *'I 


PERIOD      I  . R  E  B  K  K  A  H  .  95 

am  the  God  of  Abraliam,  thy  fathei  ;  fear  not,  for  I  am 
with  thee,  and  will  bless  thee,  and  multiply  thy  seed  for  my  ser- 
vant Abraham's  sake." 

The  Eternal  expressly  says  "  thy  seed."  Isaac  might  be  jus- 
tified in  supposing  that  both  his  sons  were  concerned  in  the  pro- 
mises, until  Esau's  reckless  disregard  of  his  birthi'ight,  and 
other  spiritual  blessings,  in  addition  to  his  intermarrying  with 
the  daughters  of  Canaan,  must  have  convinced  his  father 
that  not  from  him  could  spring  the  chosen  seed.  The  revelation 
that  "  the  elder  should  serve  the  younger,"  must  have  occasioned 
Rebekah  many  mental  inquiries ;  but  even  if  she  herse.f 
supposed  that  Jacob  was  the  destined  inheritor  of  Abraham's 
line,  it  is  evident  that  she  did  not  impart  it  to  her  husband. 

Isaac's  love  for  the  reckless  and  able  hunter,  Esau,  is  one  of 
those  contradictions  of  the  heart,  unaccountable  indeed,  but 
very  often  found.  He  loved  Esau  best,  because  in  every  respect 
he  Avas  completely  his  opposite.  Isaac  was  meek,  affectionate, 
faithful,  quietly  and  contentedly  dwelling  in  one  spot,  moving 
thence  only  at  the  command  of  the  Lord ;  satisfied  with  the 
temporal  blessings  around  him,  and  the  spiritual  blessings  of 
promise.  Esau,  bold,  enterprising,  ever  roving  in  search  of 
active  pursuit ;  heeding  naught  but  the  present ;  scorning  his 
home  and  home  ties ;  rude  and  rough,  yet,  when  excited, 
deeply  and  warmly  affectionate  to  his  aged  father.  And  Isaac 
loved  him  better  than  his  younger  son,  who,  more  like  himself, 
"  was  a  plain  or  upright  man  dwelling  in  tents."  But  Rebekah 
loved  Jacob.  Sacred  history  does  not  say  why — and  we  are 
therefore  permitted  to  infer,  that  it  was  sim|)ly  because  it  is  in 
womai  's  nature  to  love  him  best  who  is  least  loved  by  his 
father.  But  Rebekah's  favoritism,  as  we  shall  see  in  the  sequel, 
was  stronger  and  more  culpable  than  that  of  Isaac.  All  such 
,  emotions  are  stronger  in  woman's  heart  than  in  man's — because, 
with  the  {ormQ\\  feeling  is  the  most  powerful,  and  with  the 
latter,  reason.  Pai'tiality  must  always  occasion  injustice,  and 
more  particularly  in  a  parent ;  for  no  task  demands  more  con- 
trol and  feeling,  more  complete  conquest  of  self,  than  that  of 
parental  affliction.  The  dispositions,  the  characters  of  the 
divers  members  of  one  family  are  so  varied,  that  it  is  impossible 
to  guide  all  by  one  and  the  same  training.  An  impartial  mother 
will  know  every  light  and  shadow  of  every  disposition,  and 
guide  and  act  accordingly.     A  partial   mother  sees  but   the 


94  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

virtues  and  qualities  of  one,,  and  from  want  of  sympathy  and 
proper  management  of  the  other  in  early  years,  makes  him  in 
reahty  all  that  she  believed  him.  Jacob  was  domestic,  because 
a  mother's  doting  love  made  his  home  one  of  enjoyment,  and 
administered  to  every  want. 

It  was  not  till  after  Sarah's  death  that  Isaac  even  sought  a 
wife,  and  not  till  he  was  parted  from  his  mother  that  Jacob 
loved,  proofs  all  convincing  of  the  strength,  the  beauty,  the 
fulness  of  the  love  which  in  those  simple  ages  united  the  mother 
and  the  son. 

To  Esau  this  soothing  and  blessed  love  was  not  given  as  it 
was  to  Jacob  ;  and  while  his  hasty  and  inconsiderate  marriage 
with  the  daughters  of  the  Hittite  was  a  grief  of  mind  to  Isaac 
and  Rebekah,  the  latter's  neglect  might  have  been  in  part  their 
cause.  Esau  had  no  kindly  woman's  heart  to  turn  to,  as  had 
his  brother,  yet  we  have  proof  that  his  affections  were  as  strong 
— perchance,  from  his  ruder  character,  yet  stronger — and  the 
very  want  of  female  love  at  home  might  have  first  urged  him  to 
seek  it  from  the  stranger.  Oh  !  it  is  sad  when  partiality  and  its 
concomitant,  injustice,  obtains  entrance  into  a  mother's  heart. 
It  steals  in  so  silently,  so  disguised!}^,  that  unless  every  avenue 
be  guarded,  its  advances  are  utterly  unknown,  till  it  has  gained 
a  strength  and  substance  which  hold  us  chained.  Mere  human 
love,  omnipotent  as  in  a  mother's  breast  it  is,  is  not  sufficient  to 
guard  us  from  such  weakness— no,  nor  former  strength  and 
stability  of  character.  Rebekah  had  all  this,  and  yet  as  a  mother 
she  fell.  It  can  only  be  that  close  communion  with  the  univer- 
sal Father,  who  alone  knows  and  feels  every  secret  throbbing 
of  a  n-.other's  heait,  and  from  whose  hand  alone  can  come  the 
strength,  not  only  to  c/uide  aright  her  treasures,  but  to  feel 
aright  herself. 

During  the  growth  of  his  sons,  Isaac's  temporal  riches  very 
greatly  increased.  Abraham's  death  did  not  take  place  till  his 
grandsons  were  fifteen.  He  who  had  believed  it  next  to 
impossible  in  his  old  age  to  have  a  son,  lived  not  only  to  bless 
his  son,  but  his  son's  seed.  A  famine  had  sent  Isaac  and  his 
family,  by  direction  of  the  Eternal,  to  Gerar,  and  there  he  dwelt 
until  he  became  so  rich  and  great  that  the  "  Philistines  envied 
him  ;"  and  their  king,  Abiraelech,  said  unto  him,  "  Depart  from 
us,  for  thou  art  much  mightier  than  we."  And  he  did  so,  and 
after  some  wanderings,  fixed  his  tent  at  Beersheba  ;  and   there 


PERIOD       I.  ItEBEKAH.  95 

acjain  the  Lord  appeared  unto  him,  bidding  him  "  tear  not,  for 
He  was  with  him."  Beersheba,  therefore,  appears  to  have  been 
tlie  scene  of  all  the  domestic  events  which  followed — Esau 
selling  his  unvalued  birthright — his  subsequent  marriage — the 
vexations  thence  proceeding  to  Isaac  and  Rebekah — and  those 
bodily  infirmities  of  the  former,  which  occasioned  his  anxious 
desire  to  "  bless  his  son  before  he  died." 

Rebekah  heard  the  words  of  her  husband.  She  had  seen 
him  call  his  firstborn  to  his  couch,  and  bid  him. seek  venison, 
and  bring  the  savory  meat  that  he  loved,  that  his  soul  might 
bless  him  before  he  died  ;  and  her  heart  swelled  tremblingly 
within  her.  Esau  ?  Wjis  Esau  to  have  his  father's  blessing  ? 
He  who  had  sold  his  birthright,  and  so  spurned  his  privileges 
as  heir ;  and  if  he  had  it,  how  could  the  Lord's  word  be  fulfilled, 
and  the  "  elder  serve  the  younger  ?"  Why  could  she  not  pre- 
vent it,  and  secure  to  him  whom  the  Lord  before  his  birth  had 
chosen  as  the  mightiest,  the  blessing  of  his  father  ?  It  was 
easy  to  be  accomplished  ;  and  surely,  as  the  Lord  had  said  it, 
she  was  justified  in  using  any  means  to  bring  it  to  pass.  Such 
was  weak,  jfinite  reasoning — such  the  baneful  whisper  of  our 
earthly  nature,  urged  on  by  the  rushing  torrent  of  human  affec- 
tions. In  that  dread  moment  of  temptation,  how  might  she 
realize  the  unquestioning  faith  which  would  bid  her  feel,  "  The 
Lord  hath  spoken,  and  will  he  not  do  it  ?"  That  His  will 
needed  no  human  aid  for  its  fulfilment;  that  He  would  do  His 
pleasure  in  the  very  face  of  those  contradictory  events,  which 
human  will  and  finite  wisdom  might  so  weave  as  to  render  its 
fulfilment  seemingly  impossible.  If  Rebekah  had  but  "inquired 
of  the  Lord"  in  this  perplexity,  as  on  a  former  one,  the  whole 
train  of  deceit  and  its  subsequent  suffering  would  have  been 
averted.  But  she  was  still  a  woman,  weak,  wavering,  a  very 
reed  in  her  mortal  nature,  and  liable,  as  every  child  of  Adam, 
to  temptation  and  to  sin. 

Had  she  even  waited  but  one  brief  hour,  all  would  have  been 
well — the  evil  impulse  would  have  been  conquered  in  her  pious 
heart,  by  a  train  of  thought  as  above,  but  there  was  no  time 
either  to  wait  or  think  again ;  and,  acting  on  the  impulse,  she 
called  Jacob,  and  after  informing  him  of  his  father's  directions  to 
his  brother,  continued  in  a  strain  that  would  lead  us  to  believe, 
that  even  at  that  moment  she  feared  Jacob's  upright  nature 
would  shrink  from  the  task  she  imposed.     "  Now,  therefore,  my 


96  THK       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

son,  OBEY  my  voice,  according  to  that  which  I  command  thee." 
She  chiimed  his  unquestioning  obedience,  ere  imparting  that 
which  she  desired,  and  then  proceeded.  Surely  her  heart  must 
have  reproached  her,  when  her  own  son  ventured  to  suggest, 
though  guardedly  and  respectfully,  that  it  was  a  fraud,  and 
might  bring  upon  him  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing.  Yet  still  slie 
enforces  the  command,  "  Upon  me  be  the  curse,  my  son,  only 
ooey  my  voice."  And  he  did  obey  her,  weakly  and  mistakenly  ; 
for  had  he  resisted,  had  he  submissively,  yet  firmly  braved  her 
momentary  wrath,  the  evil  temptation  must  have  been  subdued, 
and  the  mother  saved  by  the  unscrupulous  honesty  of  the  son. 

But  this  was  not  to  be.  To  make  manifest  His  ways,  that 
suffering  7nust  attend  deceit,  however  for  the  moment  it  may 
seem  to  succeed,  the  Eternal  permitted  the  plans  of  finite  form- 
ing uninterruptedly  to  proceed,  working  out  indeed  His  will 
through  them,  but  punishing  even  in  success.  The  kid  was 
procured  and  dressed — the  very  hands  and  neck  of  Jacob  dis- 
guised, lest  their  smoothness  should  betray  him  ;  and  thus 
attired  by  a  mother  to  deceive,  he  approached  the  bed-side  of 
his  blind  father.  How  fearfully  must  the  heart  of  Rebekah  have 
throbbed  at  every  word  uttered  by  her  husband  and  son !  How 
terrified  at  the  words  of  the  unsuspecting,  yet  half  doubting 
Isaac  !  "  Come  near,  I  pray  thee,  that  I  may  feel  thee,  my  son, 
whether  thou  be  my  very  son  Esau  or  not."  And  Jacob  went 
near  unto  Isaac  his  father,  and  he  felt  hira,  and  said,  "  The  voice 
is  Jacob's  voice,  but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of  Esau,"  And, 
again,  as  doubting  still,  he  asks,  "  Art  thou  my  very  son  Esau  ? 
and  Jacob  answered,  I  am."  The  inspired  historian  might  not 
interrupt  his  brief,  yet  how  deeply  impressive  detail,  to  dilate  on 
a  woman's  fe(ilings  ;  yet  we,  her  descendants,  are  surely  justified 
in  judging  for  a  moment  of  Rebekah's  emotions  during  this 
interview,  by  what  our  own  would  be.  She  could  have  had  no 
sujiport,  no  stay,  for  she  had  wilfully  banished  truth,  and  how, 
then,  might  she  pray  ?  Her  whole  heart  and  mind  must  have 
been  troubled  and  tossed  by  every  trifling  word ;  discovery  and 
shame,  perhaps  the  very  loss  or  estrangement  of  her  husband's 
love,  were  as  likely  as  the  longed  for  success.  How  often, 
during  that  interim,  must  she  have  longed  once  more  to  tread 
the  path  of  truth,  for  Rebekah  was  a  mere  novice  in  deceit !  Her 
nature,  as  we  have  seen,  was  guileless  and  open  as  the  day  ;  the 
mere  temptation  of  the  moment,  and  its  consequent  anxious  and 


PERIOD      I. REBEKAH.  97 

impelling  feelings,  could  not  have  so  changed  that  nature,  as  to 
make  her  an  unmoved  witness  of  that  which  followed — the  very 
falsehood  repeated  and  insisted  upon  by  those  lips  which  she 
had  taught  from  infancy  to  lisp  forth  truth.  But  when  the 
blessing  was  obtained,  when  she  saw  her  plan  had  in  truth  suc- 
ceeded, we  may  suppose,  judging  still  by  human  nature,  that 
these  agonizing  doubts  and  fears  were  for  the  moment  calmed 
i"l  the  triumph  of  success — conscience  was  hushed  again,  in  the 
thought  that  she  had  compassed  by  stratagem  that  which  she 
believed  impossible  to  have  been  obtained  else — that  it  must 
have  been  right  and  good  so  to  have  acted,  or  it  would  not  have 
been  permitted  to  succeed.  Alas  !  how  often  do  we  so  deceive 
ourselves  !  Could  we  but  glance  a  little,  a  very  little,  further  on, 
we  should  know,  and  teel  (how  bitterly  !)  that  the  very  deceit 
we  believed  innocent,  because  it  brought  success,  has  been  our 
fii'st  step  in  the  paths  of  woe. 

And  so  it  was  with  Rebekah,  though  as  yet  she  knew  it  not. 
Her  feelings  of  triumph  could  not,  however,  have  lasted  long  : 
"  And  it  carae  to  pass,  as  soon  as  Isaac  had  made  an  end  of 
blessing  Jacob,  and  Jacob  was  yet  scarce  gone  out  from  the 
presence  of  his  father,  that  Esau,  his  brother,  came  in  from 
hunting;"  and  that  interview  followed,  which,  for  simple  and 
touching  pathos,  is  not  surpassed  by  any  incident  in  the  Bible. 

Rebekah  was  a  partial,  but  not  a  weak  or  unkind  mother. 
She  loved  Jacob  better  than  his  brother,  but  Esau  was  still  her 
son,  her  first-born,  and  oh  !  how  painfully  must  her  heart  have 
yearned  towards  him,  when  she  beard  his  "  great  and  exceeding 
bitter  cry  1" — "  Hast  thou  but  one  blessing,  my  father — bless 
me,  even  me  also,  O  my  fiither — and  Esau  lifted  up  his  voice 
and  wept."  Esau,  the  rude,  the  careless  hunter,  who  had 
seemed  to  care  for  naught  but  his  own  pleasures  ;  the  chase,  the 
field,  the  wild  !  He  bowed  down  by  his  blind  father  like  an 
infant,  and  wept ;  beseeching  the  blessing  of  which  a  mother 
and  a  brother's  subtlety  had  deprived  him.  Could  Rebekah 
have  been  a  witness,  or  even  hearer  of  this  scene,  without  losing 
all  the  triumph  of  success,  in  sympathy  with  the  anguish  of  her 
first-born  ?  It  is  impossible  to  ponder  on  her  previous  character, 
without  being  convinced  of  this.  It  is  not  from  one  act,  one 
unresisted  temptation,  that  we  ought  to  pronounce  judgment  on 
a  fellow-creature  :  yet,  from  our  unhappy  proneness  to  con- 
demn, we  generally  do  so.     The  character  of  Rebekah  is  thus 


98  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

too  often  supposed  to  be  evil  alone,  and  her  unfortunate  decep 
tion  in  favor  of  her  best  beloved  son  is  the  only  part  of  her  life 
brought  strongly  forward  :  whereas,  if  we  look  and  think  on  all 
that  sacred  history  has  recorded  of  her,  that  there  is  also  perfect 
silence  as  to  any  other  fault  (which,  had  she  comiiiitted,  we  may 
be  sure  would  have  been  told  for  our  warning) — it  becomes 
evident  that  this  guilty  action  proceeded,  not  from  forethought, 
which  would  have  manifested  a  naturally  evil  disposition,  but 
from  impulse  ;  the  thought,  the  temptation  of  a  moment,  over- 
balancing by  its  force  the  rectitude  of  years.  As  forethought, 
we  must  sondemn  both  the  sin  and  the  sinner.  As  impulse,  we 
must  abhor  the  sin — but  only  grief  and  trembling  for  the  weak- 
ness of  human  nature  must  attend  our  reflections  on  the  sinner. 
Nor  are  we  justified  in  denying  her  those  emotions  of  grief  and 
doubt,  which  must  have  succeeded  the  triumphant  success  of 
her  momentarily  formed  plan. 

But  self-accusation  was  not  to  be  her  only  punishment.  Did 
the  blessed  word  of  the  All-Just  relate  the  deception  alone,  we 
might  well  hesitate  to  aflirm  that  her  conscience  brought 
reproach,  and  believe  that  the  deed  was  not  as  guilty  as  it  seems. 
But  we  are  not  thus  left  to  our  own  imaginations.  The 
events  which  followed,  so  prove,  without  doubt  or  question,  the 
displeasure  of  the  Eternal  against  the  deed,  that  we  can  have 
no  hesitation  whatever  in  believing  that  conscience,  "  the 
angel  of  the  Lord,"  was  busy  within  her,  ere  the  bolt  of  justice 
fell. 

"  And  Esau  hated  Jacob,  because  of  the  blessing  wherewith 
his  fixther  blessed  him.  And  Esau  said  in  his  heart,  The  days 
of  mourning  for  my  father  are  at  hand ; — then  will  I  slay  my 
brother  Jacob.  And  these  words  of  Esau  her  elder  son  were 
told  to  Rebekah."  What  fearful  tidings  for  a  mother  !  How 
must  her  thoughts  have  returned,  with  agonizing  forebodings, 
to  the  first  death  which  had  marred  this  beautiful  world.  Had 
not  that  been  fratricide  and  for  envy,  the  same  feeling 
which  now  actuated  Esau  ?  And  was  not  she,  as  Eve  had  been, 
the  cause  ?  Still  nearer  cause  ;  for  she  it  was,  who,  by  leading 
Jacob  to  deceive,  had  armed  a  brother's  hand  against  him. 
How  Esau's  intentions  could  have  been  revealed  to  her,  when  the 
sacred  historian  expressly  tells  us  that  Esau  but  spake  them  in 
his  heart,  must  remain  unsolved,  unless,  as  apj^ears  most  pro- 
bable, it  was  Rebekah's  own  fears  which  betrayed  them ;  con- 


PERIOD      I  . il  E  B  E  K  A  H  .  99 

firmed  by  the  manner  of  Esau  towards  his  brother,  and  by  her 
own  knowledge  of  his  character.  His  strong  love  for  his  father, 
which  to  me  is  the  redeeming  beauty  of  Esau's  character,  might 
restrain  him  awhile — but  were  the  deatli  which  Isaac  himself 
appeared  to  anticipate,  speedily  to  take  place,  the  mother's 
forebodings  well  imagined  that  the  haughty  Esau  would  never 
submit  to  bow  to  his  brother,  and  call  him  heir.  Painfully  she 
must  have  felt,  that  not  for  her  would  Esau  restrain  his  purpose, 
though  the  wildest  ebullition  of  his  natural  anger  was  subdued 
by  the  deep  loving  reverence  he  bore  his  father.  Might  not  she 
too  have  claimed  that  love,  had  she  lavished  on  his  youthful 
years  the  same  affection  she  had  given  to  his  brother  ?  Was  it 
not  her  own  fault,  that  in  this  wild  wish  for  vengeance,  the 
death  of  the  offender,  he  thought  not  of  the  sufferino-  which 
such  a  deed  would  inflict  on  her  ?  That  such  thoughts  were 
ascendant,  and  the  voice  of  self-reproach  more  loud  and  thrilling 
than  any  anger  against  Esau  for  his  fearful  design,  is  proved  by 
her  counsel  to  Jacob — when  calling  him  to  her,  she  said, 
"Behold  thy  brother  Esau,  as  touching  thee,  doth  comfort  him- 
self, purposing  to  kill  thee.  Now,  therefore,  my  son,  obey  my 
voice  and  arise,  and  flee  thou  to  my  brother  Laban,  in  Haran. 
And  tarry  with  him  a  few  days,  until  thy  brother's  fury  turn 
away,  and  he  forget  that  which  thou  hast  done  to  him ;  then  I 
will  send,  and  fetch  thee  from  thence.  Why  should  I  also  be 
deprived  of  you  both  in  one  day  ?" 

There  is  not  one  word  of  invective  against  Esau.  If  she  '(till 
supp-)sed  that  her  act  was  justified,  inasmuch  as  it  seemed  to 
further  the  designs  of  the  Eternal,  Esau's  intention  to  slay  his 
brother  must  have  seemed  too  sinful,  too  horrible,  to  be  passed 
without  some  comment  either  of  anger  or  fear.  But  far 
otherwise  is  the  spirit  of  her  words.  They  breathe  but  a 
mother's  anxious  agony — a  consciousness  that  Esau's  wrath  was 
but  too  just.  Jacob  had  no  defence  to  plead,  and  so  avert  the 
threatened  wrath.  Nothing  could  save  him  but  flight,  till  the 
hasty  but  not  placable  Esau  was  appeased ;  and  from  her  lips 
the  mandate  of  exile  went  forth : — "  Why  should  I  also  be 
deprived  of  you  both  in  one  day  ?"  How  aflfectingly  do  those 
simple  words  betray,  not  alone  the  love  she  bore  to  both  her 
sons,  but  that  her  thoughts  turned  to  the  history  of  the  past — 
foreboding  Eve's  awful  trial  for  herself!   There  is  no  wailing,  no 


100  THE       WOMKN       OF       ISRAEL. 

complaint,  but  in  those  brief  words,  what  a  vohime  of  woman's 
deepest  feeHng  is  revealed  ! 

Her  real  emotions  having  thus  had  vent  to  Jacob,  Rebekah 
was  better  able  to  control  them  before  her  husband ;  and  she 
said  unto  him,  "  I  am  weary  of  my  life,  because  of  the  daugh- 
ters of  Heth.  If  Jacob  take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Heth, 
such  as  these  which  are  of  the  daughters  of  the  land,  what  good 
shall  my  life  do  me  ?" 

It  would  have  been  the  extreme  of  cruelty  to  ha ,  e  increased 
the  grief  of  the  infirm  Isaac,  by  a  narration  of  Esau's  evil  inten- 
tions towards  his  brother — when  Esau  himself  had  controlled 
his  fierce  passion  for  his  father's  sake.  Nor  could  Rebekah's 
confession  of  her  feult  now  in  any  way  redeem  it.  It  would 
but  have  excited  against  her  the  anger  of  her  husband,  as  being 
the  primary  cause  of  the  dissensions  between  his  sons — and  have 
occasioned  him  increased  affliction.  It  was,  in  this  instance, 
wiser  and  better  to  hide  from  Isaac  the  sad  cause  of  Jacob's 
departure;  and  urge  him  to  do  that  for  his  son  of  promise, 
which  Abraham  had  done  for  him ;  and  the  mother's  fearful 
anxiety  was  calmed  by  the  paternal  command,  coupled  with  a 
reiterated  blessing,  for  her  younger  son  "  to  go  to  Padan-Arara, 
the  house  of  Bethuel,  thy  mother's  father,  and  take  thee  a  wife 
from  one  of  the  daughters  of  Laban,  thy  mother's  brother." 
"  And  Isaac  sent  away  Jacob." 

And  thus  was  the  mother  parted  from  the  son,  for  whose 
beloved  sake  she  had  been  temptefd  to  turn  aside  from  the 
straight  line  of  probity  and  truth  which  in  such  guilelessness  and 
beauty  she  had  trodden  so  changelessly  before.  And  is  it  not 
ever  thus  ?  When  we  once  turn  from  the  one  straight  path,  can 
we  say,  thus  far  shall  we  go  and  no  further?  Can  we  set  a 
boundary  to  the  rushing  flood  of  pain  and  sorrow  which,  when 
we  have  removed  the  barrier  of  truth,  obtains  dominion,  dash- 
ing our  fairest  dreams  to  earth,  and  bringing  misery  in  the  very 
garments  of  success  ?  And  well  is  it  for  those  whom  the  Lord 
so  graciously  compassionates  as  to  reveal  these  fatal  companions 
of  deception  ere  it  be  too  late,  and  the  charmed  path  be  trodden 
till  there  is  no  turning  back. 

V/ho  can  peruse  the  history  of  Rebekah,  and  yet  believe  she 
was  not  punished  for  her  sin  ?  Wherefore  had  she  pursued 
such  fatal  measures  for  the  obtaining  of  the  blessing  for  her 


PERIOD       I. KEBEKAH.  101 

favorite  Jacob,  save  to  keep  him  for  ever  by  her  siae,  even  as 
Isaac  had  never  quitted  the  tents  of  his  father  ?  As  a  younger 
son,  his  lot  would  in  all  probabihty  have  been  to  seek  his  own 
fortune.  As  the  inheritor  of  the  blessings  vouchsafed  to  Abra- 
ham, there  could  be  no  need  for  him  to  leave  her ;  and  what 
was  the  issue  ?  Banishment  from  his  mother's  home,  or  expo- 
sure to  his  brother's  wrath, — the  sword  of  vengeance  ever 
hanging  above  his  head.  Was  this  nothing  to  a  fond  mother's 
heart  ?  Let  a  parent  ponder  for  one  moment  on  the  i>-.ea 
of  one  beloved  child  falling  by  the  hand  of  another,  and  his 
heart  will  give  the  answer.  Parting  itself  was  preferable  to  such 
ever  present  dread,  yet  what  agony  must  have  been  that 
parting  ! 

Not  then,  as  now,  might  the  absent  ones  be  united  by  mutual 
intelligence.  Neither  post  nor  traveller  passed  between  Beer- 
sheba  and  Padan-Aram.  Long  weary  wastes  of  country 
stretched  between,  and  though  Rebekah's  command  was, 
"  Tarry  there  Sifew  days^''  she  knew  it  must  be  long  months  ere 
they  met  again.  Nor  will  the  vague  thought  of  the  hour  of 
meeting  ever  lessen  the  pang  of  parting.  It  is  the  pang  itself 
which  is  felt,  the  looking  in  vain  for  the  beloved  form  in  its 
accustomed  haunts,  the  wild  yearning  to  list  once  more  the 
voice  which  sounds  in  memory  alone,  to  feel  the  fond  pressure 
of  the  hand,  the  kiss  which  welcomed  morning  and  evening, 
without  which  day  seemed  scarce  begun,  and  night  came  unob- 
served. The  pictured  hardships  of  the  lonely  wanderer  which 
no  mother's  hand  may  soften,  the  woe  unsoothed,  the  ])ain 
unhealed,  the  tired  frame  untended, — these,  and  a  hundred 
other  fears,  and  thoughts  of  suffering,  haunt  a  mother's  waking 
dreams,  and  nightly  pillow, — felt  not,  dreamed  not  by  the  wan- 
derer, yet  clinging  to  woman's  breast  with  a  tenacity  and 
anguish  time  only  can  dispel.  And  because  Rebekah  lived  so 
many  thousand  years  ago,  shall  we  deny  to  her  these  feelings 
•when  the  hour  came,  and  her  beloved  one  departed — departed 
and  alone,  with  no  manifestation  of  the  fruit  of  that  blessing 
which  she  had  lured  him  to  obtain  ? 

With  the  departure  of  Jacob,  tlie  history  of  Rebekah 
concludes,  for  her  name  is  no  more  mentioned. — Even  on  her 
death  Holy  Writ  is  silent.  We  only  know  that  she  was  buried 
in  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  by  the  words  of  Jacob  in  Gen.  xlix. 
31.     And  from  there  being  no  mention  whatever  of  her  on 


102        -  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL, 

Jacob's  return  to  Hebron,  we  -must  infer  that  she  died  before  his 
arrival,  and  never  had  the  happiness  of  folding  him  to  her 
heart  again.  How  sad  and  lonely  must  her  declining  years 
have  seemed  without  him  who  had  been  so  long  her  stay  ;  even 
though  her  long  dormant  affection  for  Esau  may  have  been 
aroused  from  the  injustice  she  had  done  him— and  he  evidently 
sought,  with  a  softened  spirit,  to  gratify  his  parents,  by  a  union 
with  a  daughter  of  his  uncle  Ishraael, — he  could  never  have 
been  to  her  as  Jacob ;  and  painfully  and  sadly  must  she  have 
yearned  for  the  absent,  as  the  "few  days,"  which  she  had  pic- 
tured, widened  into  long  months  and  yet  longer  years.  How 
changed  must  her  life  have  seemed,  and  changed  from  the 
impulse  of  a  moment ;  and  as  death  neared — as  she  felt  it 
might  no  longer  be  averted,  and  she  had  waited  and  prayed  in 
vain  to  behold  her  son  on  earth  once  more — must  she  not  have  felt 
to  the  full,  that,  though  the  deception  had  been  successful,  though 
the  blessing  had  been  given,  the  means  of  its  bestowal  could 
not  have  been  "  acceptable  to  the  Lord  ?"  and  had  she,  as  we  are 
privileged  to  do,  beheld  the  life  of  trial  and  disappointment,  and 
retributive  deception,  which  marked  the  earthly  course  of  her 
favorite  son,  this  solemn  truth  would  have  been  impressed  still 
more. 

Yet  the  death  of  Rebekah  was  in  all  probability  one  of  peace, 
and  calm  holy  reliance  on  the  infinite  mercy  of  her  God.  He 
had  chastised,  but  in  the  midst  of  chastisement  had  mercy  ; 
the  fury  of  Esau  had  been  turned  aside,  Jacob  been  saved,  and 
peace  preserved  in  the  household  of  Isaac.  Her  earthly  idol 
removed  from  her  sight,  we  may  well  believe  that  Rebekah 
returned  to  her  domestic  duties  with  that  singleness  of  purpose 
and  uprightness  of  heart  which  had  marked  her  earlier  years. 
The  temptation  to  turn  aside,  the  loving  mercy  of  the  Eternal 
had  removed,  and  the  mother,  even  while  her  heart  bled,  must 
have  pronounced  the  mandate  just.  If  in  her  youth,  before  the 
knowledge  of  the  God  of  Abraham  had  been  imparted,  she  had 
felt  with  her  brother,  "  It  is  the  Lord,  we  cannot  speak  unto  thee 
bad  or  good,"  would  she  not — now  that  long  years  had  been 
passed  in  his  service — have  felt  even  in  her  affliction  "  it  is  the 
Lord,"  and,  without  murmur  or  complaint,  submit  herself  to  His 
will? 

Are  we  then,  it  may  be  asked,  to  give  Rebekah  the  meed  of 
unmixed  admiration  ?    to  rest  only  on  the  good  points  of  her 


PERIOD       I. REBEKAH.  103 

character  ?  No.  Like  all  human  nature,  it  was  a  blending  of 
the  good  and  evil.  Had  Rebekah  been  told  that,  ere  her  life 
closed,  she  should  have  acted  as  she  did,  she  would  in  all 
probability  have  felt  it  impossible  ;  na}',  ere  her  children  were 
born,  would  have  shrunk  with  horror  from  the  idea  of  loving 
one  more  tlian  the  other.  All  we  would  urge  is  simply,  that 
we  are  not  to  condemn  her,  as  if  the  unfortunate  propensity  of 
woman,  "  to  compass  by  stratagem,"  were  the  marked  fail- 
ing of  her  character,  and  that  therefore  the  evil  not  the  ^ood 
was  ever  the  ascendant.  This  is  the  common  error  into  which 
superficial  thinkers  fall ;  and  from  such  have  arisen  questions  as 
to  the  morality  of  the  Bible,  that  its  holiness  would  be  more 
confirmed  were  there  no  such  faults  recorded.  If  indeed  those, 
of  whom  it  so  impartially  writes,  were  thus  faultless,  it  would  be 
destined  for  the  use  of  Angels,  not  of  man.  But  not  such  was 
the  design  of  the  Internal.  lie  inspired  hoi}'  men  to  write  that 
which  would  comfort  and  sustain  man,  when  his  immediate 
presence  and  guidance  were  veiled  from  mortal  eyes  ;  and  His 
faithful  servants  alike,  male  and  female,  were  depictured  in  their 
virtues  and  their  failures,  with  an  impartiality  and  truth  which 
were  to  be  our  hope  in  our  lowly  eftbrts  after  virtue,  and  our  conso- 
lation in  our  weakness  and  our  sin.  Rebekah's  fault  was  one,  her 
virtues  many ;  and  therefore,  while  we  abhor  and  pray  against  the 
sin,  we  can  only  grieve  and  lament  that  human  weakness  which 
triumphed  in  one  moment  of  strong  temptation  over  the 
virtuous  strength  of  years.  We  dare  not  condemn  and  scorn 
that  weakness  ;  for  did  we  so,  we  scorn,  and  condemn,  and  pro- 
nounce judgment  on  ourselves.  How  may  we  assert  that,  had 
w^e  been  placed  as  Rebekah  in  that  dread  moment,  we  too 
should  not  have  done  as  she  did  ?  Can  we  assert  that  the 
promise  of  the  Eternal  would  have  been  so  strongly  impressed 
within  us,  that  we  could  have  left  its  fulfilment  in  His  hands, 
without  one  effort  by  our  own  agency  to  forward  it  ?  Can  we 
say  that  we  should  have  gone  to  Him  in  prayer,  beseeching 
Him  to  counteract  the  design  of  Isaac  in  favor  of  his  firstborn, 
and  rest  contented  that  the  prayer  would  be  heard  and 
answered  ? 

There  may  be  some  too,  loudly  and  reproachfully  to  condemn 
that  weak  partiality  which  was  the  real  origin  of  the  evil, — ^yet 
let  such  take  heed,  lest  they  too  should  fall  by  the  same  weak- 

VOL.   I.  6 


104  THE       AVOMEN       OF       ISRAEL, 

ness,  for  they  know  not  how  their  affections  may  equally  be 
tried.  Oh  !  not  in  condemnation  of  our  meek  and  gentle 
ancestress  shall  we  reap  the  bene6t  of  her  example,  and  turn 
aside  from  her  faults.  If,  even  in  her,  the  weakness  of  human 
nature  once  triumphed  over  the  immortal  spirit,  what  may  save 
us  from  the  same  fault  ?  Will  the  purity  of  youth,  the.  piety 
of  early  womanhood,  the  truth  and  virtue  of  long  years? 
Will  these  obtain  such  sway  as  always  to  be  our  safeguard  and 
our  strength  ?  Alas  !  not  these  :  it  must  be  the  grace  of  God 
alone,  sought  by  constant  prayer  and  utter  dependence  upon 
Him,^the  constant  watch  over  ourselves, — the  knowledge  of 
our  own  weakness, — that  which  most  exposes  us  to  fall  beneath 
temptation, — the  consciousness  that  there  is  not  a  domestic 
duty, — not  a  home  affection, — not  an  hour's  employmtnt, — not 
a  daily  path  or  nightly  thought,  in  which  sin  may  not  creep  in 
and  obtain  dominion,  unless  effectually  guarded  against  by 
unceasing  watchfulness  and  prayer.  And  to  us,  yet  more  than 
any  other  nation  in  the  world,  is  this  watchful  care  and  daily 
petition  needed.  To  Israel  is  intrusted  the  Honor  of 
THE  Lord  ;  His  chosen.  His  beloved.  His  witnesses,  the  record- 
ers of  His  ways  unto  man,  the  promulgators  of  His  eternal 
love.  How  may  we  be  lukewarm  in  His  cause,  when  we  are 
so  called  upon  to  exalt  His  glory  ?  We  are  scattered  among 
the  nations  as  witnesses  of  the  past  and  pledges  of  the 
FUTURE,  and  shall  we  with  indifference  permit  others  to  claim 
the  privileges  which  are  ours,  and  assert  that,  until  the  epoch 
of  Christianity,  God  had  no  witnesses  upon  earth  ?  No, 
O  no!  Surely,  individually  and  nationally,  we  shall  use  our 
every  effort  to  proclaim  our  high  and  glorious  descent  amid 
the  nations  ! 

One  point  more,  and  we  must  conclude  this  memoir,  already 
so  much  longer  than  we  intended.  It  has  been  said,  that  as 
the  Eternal  ordained  that  Jacob  was  to  receive  the  promised 
blessing,  and  that  the  "elder  should  serve  the  younger,"  it 
must  have  been  obtained  in  some  way  ;  and  therefore  the 
means  of  its  accomplishment  were  of  little  consequence,  thus 
endeavoring  to  remove  all  that  was  reprehensible  in  the 
conduct  of  Jacob  and  his  mother.  Nay,  some  commentators 
try  to  make  her  conduct  proceed  from  a  belief  that  her  course 
of  "  acting  was  in  such  conformity  with  the  divine  prediction, 


PERIOD       1.  REBEKAH.  105 

that  she  determined  at  all  risks,  and  by  any  means,  to  secure 
the  blessing-  for  her  younger  and  more  worthy  son."  * 

This  species  of  reasoning  appears  as  mistaken  as  the  too 
violent  condemnation  of  Rebekah,  and  so  completely  at 
variance  with  the  simple,  trusting  piety  of  the  patriarchs  and 
their  families,  that  we  cannot  at  all  suppose  it  actuating  the 
mother's  feelings.  Besides  which,  to  think  thus,  supposes  a 
pre-determination  to  deceive  her  husband,  whereas  the  narrative 
of  the  Bible  clearly  marks  it  the  impulse  of  the  moment. 

Isaac,  before  his  birth,  was  the  child  of  promise  to  Abraham  : 
the  Lord  had  promised  he  should  be  the  father  of  a  multitude, 
and  in  him  and  his  seed  all  nations  should  be  blessed.  Yet 
that  very  child,  Abraham  was  commanded  to  sacrifice,  and 
without  hesitation  he  prepared  to  obey,  feeling  convinced,  that 
though  to  him  the  means  of  accomplishing  the  divine  promise 
were  plunged  in  darkest  mystery — if  indeed  his  child  must  die 
— yet  still  that  the  promise  would  he  fulfilled  without  any  inter- 
vention of  man ;  his  duty  was  simply  to  obey,  and  the  promise 
was  fulfilled. 

As  the  command  of  the  Lord  to  slay  his  son  was  the  trial  of 
Abraham's  faith,  so  were  the  words  of  Isaac  to  Esau  the  trial 
of  Rebekah's.  She  ought  to  have  known,  from  that  very 
incident  in  the  early  life  of  her  husband,  that  whatever  the 
Lord  has  once  said.  He  will  perfoim,  however  mysterious  may 
seem  the  means  of  its  accomphshment — that  though  Isaac 
might  intend  to  give  the  blessing  to  his  first-born,  his  words 
would  have  been  overruled,  and  the  blessing  reserved  for  Jacob, 
without  any  strife  between  the  brothers  or  their  consequent 
separation.  But  her  faith  was  not  strong  enough  for  that  most 
difficult  duty — to  "  wait  for  the  Lord."  Woman-like,  feeling 
was  her  iveakness,  impulse  her  guide,  faith  succumbed  before 
these,  and  so  left  her  unguarded,  when  its  invulnerable  defence 
was  more  needed  than  it  had  ever  been  before. 

Rebekah  had  perhaps  some  excuse  for  her  momentary  fancy 
that  her  course  of  acting  was,  from  its  success,  acceptable  to 
the  Lord ;  but  we  have  none.  The  idea  that  human  means 
are  necessary  to  forward  any  intention  of  the  Most  High, 
cannot  be  entertained  a  single  moment  without  verging  on 
impiety,  when  we  have  the  whole  Word  of  God  to  prove  by 

•  Philippson : — See  Notes  to  Mr.  De  Sola's  Bible. 


106  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

precept  and  example  that  He  is  as  omnipotent  to  do  as  to  will. 
Man  is  a  free  agent.  Rebekah  had  equal  power  to  "  wait  for 
the  Lord"  as  to  urge  her  son  to  deception.  That  she  chose 
the  latter  was  liuman  frailty,  no  pre-ordainment.  He  indeed 
permitted  tlie  fraud  in  appearance  to  succeed,  because  He  had 
already  ordained  that  Jacob  should  be  the  promised  seed,  and 
His  changeless  and  all-wise  decree  might  not  be  turned  aside 
even  to  annul,  and  so  punish  the  designs  of  sin.  But  that  in 
no  way  exculpates  the  fraud.  Had  no  deceit  whatever  been 
practised,  the  blessing  would  still  have  been  Jacoo's.  It 
matters  not  how  ;  it  is  enough  to  know  that  the  ways  of  the 
Eternal  are  not  our  ways,  and  that  His  decrees  require  no  aid 
of  man. 

That  human  designs,  however  sinful,  however  contrary  to  the 
pleasure  of  the  Lord,  are  overruled  to  further  His  divine  economy 
— no  one  who  attentively  studies  and  believes  God's  Word  can  for 
a  single  moment  doubt ;  but  this  truth  in  not  one  tittle  renders  us 
less  responsible  beings.  That  the  Eternal  ever  bringeth  forth 
and  worketh  universal  good  from  partial  evil,  proves  His  loving 
kindness,  His  beneficence.  His  all-wise,  ever  acting  mercy  alone. 
Not  that  man  is  in  any  point  acquitted,  or  that  evil  is  a 
necessary  adjunct  to  the  bringing  forth  of  good.  The  workers 
and  the  designers  of  evil  are,  individually,  objects  of  displeasure, 
and  will  suffer  the  burden  of  their  guilt.  The  doers  of  evil  the 
God  of  Love  abhors,  even  while  His  compassion  overrules  the 
deeds,  and  turns  them  in  His  hand  to  the  furtherance  of 
good. 

We  are  earnestly  and  heartily  anxious  to  impress  this 
important  truth  on  the  minds  of  our  younger  readers,  who,  in 
their  early  perusal  of  God's  Holy  Word,  may  and  will  feel 
stai'tled,  that  human  weakness  should  not  only  be  recorded,  but 
its  actions  be  permitted  to  succeed.  Success  is  not  always  a 
proof  of  the  Eternal's  approbation.  The  history  of  both 
Rebekah  and  Jacob  proves  the  displeasure  of  the  Lord  toicards 
themselves  individualhf,  though  their  action  was  overruled  to 
the  accomplishment  of  His  previous  will.  Rebekah  never  saw 
her  son  again  ;  and  Jacob,  though  sph'ituallT/  blessed,  was  in  his 
eartlily  career  more  unfortunate  than  any  of  his  family  before 
or  after  him. 

This    narrative   alone,    then,    ought   to   bid    us    eschew   a. 
wandering  from  the  one  straight  path  of  single-hearted  truth 


PERIOD      I. LEAH       AND      RACHEL.  107 

tbat  we  never  can  do  so  without  exciting-  the  displeasure  of  our 
Heavenly  Father,  even  though  our  plans  may  seem  crowned 
with  unmerited  success.  The  attribute  of  our  God  is  truth  ; 
how  then  dare  we  believe  that  He  smiles  upon  those  who 
depart  from  it,  or  requires  human  deception  to  forward  Ilis 
almighty  will  ?  As  His  children.  His  own.  His  first-born,  oh  !  let 
our  watchword  be  truth  !  Let  our  upright,  single-minded, 
straightforward  adherence  to  truth  in  every  thought,  word,  and 
deed,  proclaim  whose  witn«sses  we  are,  and  compel  the 
nations  to  acknowledge  that  we  are  "  Israelites  indeed  ! " 


CHAPTER  IV. 

LEAH      AND      RACHEL. 

[t  was  on  the  same  spot,  in  the  land  of  the  East,  where  nearly 
■a  century  previous  Abraham's  steward  had  bowed  himself  to  the 
earth  in  prayer,  that  several  shepherds  and  their  flocks  were 
assembled,  grouped  by  the  side  of  a  well,  from  whose  mouth, 
the  great  stone  covering  had  not  yet  been  rolled  aside.  It  was 
high  noon,  when  a  stranger  approached,  and  courteously 
addressing  the  shepherds,  inquired  :  "  My  brethren,  whence  be 
ye?  And  they  said.  Of  Haran  are  we.  And  he  said  unto 
them,  Knovv  ye  Laban,  the  son  of  Nahor  ?  And  they  said.  We 
know  him.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Is  he  well  ?  And  they 
said,  He  is  well,  and  behold  Rachel  his  daughter  cometh  with 
the  sheei).  And  while  he  yet  spake  with  them  Rachel  came 
with  her  father's  sheep,  for  she  kept  them.  And  it  came  to  pass 
when  Jacob  saw  Rachel,  the  daughter  of  Laban  his  mother's 
brother,  and  the  sheep  of  Laban  his  mother's  brother,  that  Jacob 
went  near,  and  rolled  the  stone  from  the  well's  mouth,  and 
watered  the  sheep  ;  and  Jacob  kissed  Rachel,  and  lifted  up  his 
voice  and  wept,  and  Jacob  told  Rachel  that  he  was  her  father's 
brot.her,  and  that  he  was  Rebekah's  son.  And  she  ran  and  tol:. 
her  father." 


108  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

Such,  in  the  simple  yet  impressive  language  of  Holy  Writ, 
was  the  first  meeting  of  Jacob  and  his  beautiful  cousin. 

Lonely  and  sad  the  exiled  Jacob  had  turned  from  the  home 
of  his  childhood  and  the  parents  of  his  love.  The  child  of 
promise  and  of  prayer — the  inheritor  of  God's  especial  blessing 
■ — the  ancestor  of  kings — was  compelled  to  make  his  bed  on  the 
cold  earth,  with  nothing  but  stones  for  his  pillow.  How  must 
his  thoughts  have  clung  to  his  mother  and  his  home!  That 
his  heart  was  once  more  fitted  for'the  reception  and  comprehen- 
sion of  holy  things,  is  proved  by  the  dream  which  Infinite 
Wisdom  vouchsafed,  to  strengthen  and  encourage  him.  The 
promise  would  not  have  been  revealed  to  one  unworthy  to  receive 
it.  Though  human  weakness  may  sully  and  darken  even  the 
choicest  servants  of  the  Lord,  yet  not  unto  the  impure,  the 
unholy,  the  unrepentant,  would  the  Holy  One  impart  the  bless- 
ing of  His  spirit  and  His  guidance.  Acknowledgment  of  his 
ffiult  must  have  brought  Jacob  once  more  to  the  feet  of  his 
Heavenly  Father,  or  the  confirmation  of  the  blessed  promise 
would  have  still  been  delayed. 

On  the  beautiful,  the  most  consoling  vision  vouchsafed  to 
Jacob,  consoling,  not  only  to  him  but  to  us,  we  may  not  linger. 
Yet,  though  so  spiritually  consoled,  strengthened,  and  refreshed, 
the  mortal  nature  of  the  wanderer  must  often  have  obtained 
ascendency  during  his  journey,  and  have  rendered  it  at  the  very 
least  dreary  and  sad.  Jacob  had  never  been  tried  till  his 
departure  from  his  father's  house  ;  and,  therefore,  though  awe- 
struck and  "  afraid"  at  the  glorious  revelation  when  its  impression 
was  vividly  before  him,  his  very  vow  supposes  a  sliglit  degree 
of  doubt,  natural  to  one  only  just  called  upon  to  believe:  "  If 
the  Lord  will  be  with  me,  and  will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I 
go,  give  me  bread  to  cat  and  raiment  to  2n^t  on,  so  that  I  come 
again  to  my  fother's  house  in  peace,  then  the  Lord  shall  be  my 
God."  "  Bread  to  eat  and  raiment  to  put  on."  Even  for  these 
petty  cares  and  trials  he  was  dependent  on  the  Lord  alone  ;  yet 
that  he  did  not  possess  even  these — that  he  had  literally  left 
the  tent  of  his  father  with  his  staff  for  his  sole  possession,  may 
give  us  some  idea  of  the  human  trials  of  our  forefathers,  even 
of  those  whom  the  Lord  most  blessed.  Their  greatness,  their 
influence,  their  riches,  were  to  come  from  God  alone,  not  from 
man;  their  lives  were  to  bear  witness  to  His  providence,  even  as 
their  descendants  are  witnesses  of  the  fulfilment  of  His  word. 


PERIOD      I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  109 

•  As  Jacob  was  subject  to  all  the  inconveniences,  fatigue,  and 
suffering  of  travelling  through  a  strange  and  often  hostile 
country,  as  any  other  wanderer — his  feelings,  on  nearing  the 
abode  of  his  uncle,  may  more  easily  be  imagined  than  described. 
In  his  conversation  with  the  shepherds,  and  then  in  his  actively 
rolling  aside  the  stone  and  watering  the  sheep,  we  may  read 
the  manly  effort  to  restrain  emotion,  which,  however,  spurned 
all  control  when,  in  the  simple  and  beautiful  affection  of  the 
patriarchal  age,  "  he  kissed  Rachel,  and  lifted  up  his  voice  and 
wept."  Wept,  that  God  had  in  His  loving  mercy  guided 
him  thus  far,  and  seemed  to  promise  that  newly  known,  yet 
instinctively  loved,  relations  should  fill  up  the  aching  void  in 
his  heart,  which  the  sudden  separation  from  his  mother  must 
have  caused. 

"  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  Laban  heard  the  tidings  of 
Jacob,  his  sister's  son,  that  he  ran  to  meet  him,  and  embraced 
him,  and  kissed  him,  and  brought  him  to  his  house.  And  he 
told  Laban  all  these  things.  And  Laban  said,  Surely  thou 
art  my  bone  and  my  flesh.  And  he  abode  with  him  the 
space  of  a  month."  Again  is  family  affection  vividly  brought 
before  us. 

If  the  reckoning  of  some  commentators  be  true,  and  Jacob 
was  seventy-six  when  he  entered  the  household  of  Laban,  nearly 
one  hundred  years  must  have  elapsed  since  Rebekah  had 
quitted  her  maiden  home.  Yet  how  closely  and  fondly  must 
her  memory  have  been  enshrined  in  the  heart  of  her  brother, 
and  through  him  cherished  by  his  children,  that  Jacob  was 
thus  so  warmly  and  delightedly  welcomed,  simply  because  he 
was  "  Rebekah's  son." 

Youth  in  Laban  had  changed  to  manhood,  manhood  to  age. 
He  had  nearer  and  dearer  calls  upon  his  heart  in  his  character 
of  husband  and  father;  yet  still  the  memory  of  the  "hand-in- 
hand  companion  of  his  childhood"  remained  pure,  and  beautiful, 
and  strong,  as  if  absence  had  never  come  between  them.  Will 
not  this  fact  reveal  how  acceptable  in  the  Lord's  sight  is  the 
encouragement  of  those  affections  which  His  love  has  given  to 
his  children  ?  And  how  sad,  how  wrong  it  is  to  permit  coldness 
and  indifference  to  steal  in  between  the  members  of  one  family. 
Would  Laban  have  entertained  such  fond  recollections  of 
Rebekah,  had  their  earl}^  youth  been  passed  in  that  utter  want 
of  cordiality   and  confidence,  faithfulness   and  affection,  which 


110  THE       WOMEN       OP       ISRAEL. 

but  too  often  mar  the  unity  and  beauty  of  modern  fashionable 
homes  ?  Oh  !  not  to  be  expended  only  on  the  strano-er,  hath  the 
God  of  love  stored  our  hearts  with  affection,  with  reverence, 
with  all  that  can  make  home  an  earthly  heaven  !  Would  we 
truly  love  and  seek  to  please  Him,  our  first  duty  must  be,  to 
love  and  make  those  happy  with  whom  our  daily  lot  is  cast. 

Two  daughters  blessed  the  house  of  Laban  ;  the  elder  Leah, 
the  younger  Rachel.  Now  "  Leah  was  tender-eyed,  and 
Rachel  beautiful  and  well-favored."  As  the  sacred  historian 
disdains  not  to  mention  this,  we  may  be  permitted  to  pause  one 
moment  upon  the  characteristics  of  the  two  sisters.  That  Leah 
was  much  less  beautiful  than  her  sister  is  evident  from  the 
words  of  the  text,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  she  was  as  plain 
and  homely  as  some  commentators  declare  her.  The  Hebrew 
word  translated  "  tender,"  "  And  the  eyes  of  Leah  were  tender 
(ni31  wSb  "^i''Sl\"  does  not  signify  weak  only,  as  is  generally 
supposed,  but  soft  and  delicate,  and  leads  me  to  suppose  that 
the  soft  and  tender  eyes  of  Leah  were  her  only  good  featui-e, 
whereas  her  younger  sister  was  "  very  beautiful  and  of  exceed- 
ing beauty,"  which  is  the  literal  meaning  of  the  Hebrew  expres- 
sion  nrii   rinin   bnni   nt^^i^:    nsii    ^sim,   though   even   such 

-J         t:it  -tI         -»-  -•         -'  ^__ 

translation  is  tar  from  possessing  the  force  of  the  original.  This 
difference  of  appearance  occasioned,  as  would  appear  by  the 
sequel,  a  complete  difference  of  character. 

One  month  Jacob  abode  with  his  uncle,  evidently  doing  him 
active  service  in  return  for  the  hospitality  which  he  had 
received.  That  he  did  so,  tells  well  for  the  real  character  of  the 
wanderer ;  for  in  his  father's  house  Jacob  had  never  been 
accustomed  to  active  service,  and  it  must  have  demanded  some 
httle  exertion  of  will  over  inclination,  to  have  permitted  its 
steady  and  active  performance.  Laban,  however,  at  this  period 
of  their  intimacy,  felt  too  kindly  and  generously  towards  his 
nephew  to  permit  him  to  work  without  wages.  "  And  he  said 
unto  him.  Because  thou  art  my  brother,  shouldst  thou  therefore 
serve  me  for  naught  ?  Tell  me  what  shall  thy  wages  be  ?  And 
Jacob  loved  Rachel,  and  said,  I  will  serve  thee  seven  years  for 
Rachel  thy  younger  daughter.  And  Laban  said.  It  is  better 
I  give  her  unto  thee  than  to  another  man.  Abide  with  me. 
And  Jacob  served  seven  years  for  Rachel  ;  and  they  seemed  unto 
him  but  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  had  to  her^'' 


PERIOD       I. LEAH       AND       RACHEL.  Ill 

We  think  much  of  those  tales  of  chivalry  where  man  performs 
some  great  and  striking  deed — conquers  his  own  passions — 
becomes  a  voluntary  wanderer — all  to  win  the  smile  and  love 
of  woman.  And  we  do  right,  for  the  motive  is  pure  and  the 
moral  good.  But  such  high-wrought  volumes  should  not  blind 
our  hearts  and  eyes  to  this  exquisite  narration,  wherein  the  same 
truth,  the  same  moral  is  impressed,  with  equal  force  and  beauty, 
only  in  the  simple  language  of  the  Bible.  Jacob's  servitude 
was  a  more  convincing  jjroof  of  his  love  and  constancy  than 
those  exciting  deeds  of  heroism  which  chivalry  records.  His 
was  no  service  to  call  upon  distant  lands  and  far-off  ages  to 
admire.  Nothing  for  fame,  that  brilliant  meteor,  which, 
equally  with  love,  divided  the  warrior's  heart  in  the  middle 
ages.  Nothing  to  vary  the  routine  of  seven  years'  domestic 
duty,  the  wearisome  nature  of  which  we  find  in  the  38th  and 
39th  verses  of  chapter  xxxi.  Yet  these  "  seven  years  seemed 
but  as  a  few  days  for  the  love  he  had  to  herP  A  brief  yet 
most  emphatic  sentence,  revealing  the  purest,  the  holiest,  the 
most  unselfish  love,  unrestrained  by  one  fleeting  thought  of 
worldly  aggrandizement,  or  a  hope  beyond  making  that  beloved 
one  his  own.  "  Consumed  by  the  draught  by  day,  chilled  by 
the  frost  at  night,"  still  he  never  wavered.  Love  was  his 
upholder — his  sustainer.  And  it  was  for  this  end  love  was  so 
mercifully  given. 

As  the  word  of  God  disdains  not  to  portray  the  extent  of 
love  borne  by  one  mortal  for  another,  we  trust  we  may  be  par- 
doned if  we  linger  a  moment  on  that  emotion,  the  very  name 
of  which  is  generally  banished  from  the  education  of  young 
females,  as  if  to  feel  or  excite  it  were  a  crime,  forgetting  that,  in 
banishing  all  idea  of  its  influence,  we  banish  also  the  proper 
means  of  regulating  that  influence,  and  subject  our  young  charge 
unguarded  to  the  very  evil  that  we  dread. 

God  gave  not  love  to  bind  to  earth,  but  to  raise  to  heaven : 
not  to  make  us  earthly  idols,  but,  on  the  very  love  we  bear  each 
other,  to  lift  up  the  soul  to  Uim — to  lighten  toil  and  soften  grief, 
to  heighten  joy  and  bless  our  earthly  sojourn  with  a  bright  ray 
from  that  exhaustless  fount  of  love  which  waits  for  us  above. 
Without  some  emotion  powerful  enough  to  draw  us  out  of  our- 
selves for  an  eartldy  brother,  how  could  we  ever  subject  our 
selfish  hearts  to  the  will  of  our  God  ?  hdw  perform  those  self- 
sacrifices  most  acceptable  to  Him  ?     Stronger  than  pain   and 


112  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

toil,  and  even  death,  it  is  the  very  essence  of  our  being,  the 
spiritual  essence,  which  marks  more  powerfully  than  aught  else 
our  immortal  destiny  ;  and  from  the  reflection  of  that  destiny 
lends  a  glow  to  earth.  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  th}'  God 
with  all  thy  heart,  and  soul,  and  might,"  is  the  command  of  the 
Eternal — an  important  command — yet  not  given  till  after  His 
word  had  revealed  to  us  that  it  was  possible,  nay,  that  it  was  a 
necessary  consequence,  for  those  who  served  and  loved  Him 
best,  to  love  and  cleave  unto  each  other.  Had  not  the  heart 
been  created  with  full  capacity  to  love,  this  command  would 
not  have  been  given ;  and  He  who  has  placed  us  in  a  world  of 
beauty,  who  has  gathered  around  us  objects  to  excite  every 
feeling,  demands  not  that  those  feelings  are  to  be  devoted  to 
Him  alone  in  utter  neglect  of  our  fellows. 

It  is  not  passion  to  which  we  allude,  though  but  too  often  the 
words  are  deemed  synonymous.  Nor  do  we  mean  passion  when 
we  say  that  love  is  the  handmaid  of  religion.  No,  it  is  a  spirit- 
ual, not  an  earthly  feeling  ;  spii'itual  even  when  it  relates  to 
man,  not  God.  And  if,  indeed,  it  be  so,  and  the  more  we 
reflect  upon  it  the  more  we  feel  it  is,  or  ought  to  be,  why  should 
it  be  a  subject,  as  it  too  often  is,  of  jest,  of  scorn,  and  those  under 
its  influence  deemed  not  far  removed  from  folly  and  romance  ? 
Why  should  education  never  allude  to  it  save  as  a  dreadful  and 
unlikely  thing,  and  the  sage  lesson  so  often  conned,  that  reason, 
not  affection,  is  to  be  our  guide  ?  Were  the  word  religion  sub- 
stituted for  reason  in  such  educational  codes,  the  young  heart 
would  be  so  trained  as  to  eschew  all  fear  of  mere  earthly  love  ; 
it  would  know  itself,  its  own  impulses,  its  own  feelings,  and  so 
set  a  strong  guard  upon  those  most  likely  to  lead  to  error,  while 
it  encouraged  all  that  would  urge  to  good.  It  would  feel  that 
lovt  was  of  God,  and  therefore  not  a  subject  for  levity  or  jest ; 
— that  it  was  sent  lo  lift  up  the  spirit  to  Him,  and  therefore  not 
so  to  expend  its  force  on  an  earthly  idol  as  to  lead  to  extrava- 
gance and  folly ; — that  it  was  to  last  for  ever,  not  unto  death,  hat 
beyond  it,  and  therefore  not  to  be  given  to  one  whose  future 
was  of  earth,  and  who  sought  in  its  possession  but  the  gi'atifica- 
tion  of  a  few  fleeting  years  ; — that  it  was  to  endure  through 
sorrow  and  sickness,  and  trial  and  woe,  not  to  be  the  mere  har- 
binger of  gaiety  and  joy,  to  shine  in  a  ball-room  and  glitter  in 
a  bridal  robe ; — but  to  bear  with  occasional  irritability  or  even 
with  unkindness  and  apparent  neglect  •  with  faults  which  we 


PERIOD       I.  LEAH        AND        RACHEL.  113 

must  never  breathe ;  with  intervals  of  an  utter  want  of  sympa- 
thy, even  of  depreciation,  which  we  must  endure,  solace,  and 
forgive  : — not  to  suppose  that  we  shall  ever  be  as  when  that 
love  is  first  called  forth,  our  wishes  granted  ere  told,  our  every 
feeling  answered,  our  every  virtue  appreciated,  our  very  failings 
loved.  And  to  be  prepared  for  this — to  love  thus  with  a 
strength,  a  purity  that  will  bear  all  this,  aye,  and  more  painful 
still,  the  very  sacrifices  of  self  which  love  im[)els,  unfelt,  unknown, 
uncared  for,  or  if  seen,  but  deemed  our  duty,  and  coldly  passed 
uncheered — will  aught  but  that  love  which  is  spiritual  sustain 
us  ?  and  will  such  emotion  come  to  the  young  heart  without 
some  preparatory  training  ?  Oh  !  not  while  love  is  deemed 
romance,  not  while  it  is  made  a  jest,  or  shunned  as  something 
guilty  or  derogatory,  will  it,  can  it  ever  be  as  the  God  of  love 
ordained,  the  purest,  dearest  blessing  earth  can  know,  the  love- 
liest type  of  heaven. 

Something  more  than  Rachel's  beauty,  marvellous  as  that 
was,  must  have  so  retained  Jacob's  love  for  her  in  those  seven 
years  of  domestic  intercourse,  as  to  make  the  time  appear  but  a 
few  days.  Beauty  may  attract  and  win  if  the  time  of  courtship 
be  too  brief  to  require  no  other  charm,  but  it  is  not  sufficient  of 
itself  to  retain  aflection.  Gift  from  God,  as  it  is,  how  may  it  be 
abused,  and  how  may  it  be  wasted  in  caring  only  for  the  lovely 
shape  without,  and  leaving  the  rich  invisible  gems  within  un- 
cared for  and  unused  1  Oh  !  if  there  be  one  among  my  youthful 
readers,  of  beauty  exceeding  as  that  of  Rachel,  who  holdeth  in 
her  possession  this  rich  gift  of  God,  let  her  remember  that  He 
will  demand  of  her  how  she  hath  used  it, — that  its  abuse,  its 
pntenied  neglect,  yet  in  reality  proud  value,  will  pass  not  un- 
noticeo  by  its  beneficent  Giver.  It  has  been  granted  for  some 
end, — for  if  to  look  on  a  beautiful  flower  will  excite  emotions  of 
admiration  and  love,  and  consequently  enjoyment,  how  much, 
more  deeply  would  such  feelings  be  called  forth  by  a  beautiful 
face,  could  we  but  behold  it  as  the  hands  of  God  had  formed  it, 
unshaded  by  the  impress  of  those  emotions  of  pride,  contempt, 
or  self-sufficiency,  or  that  utter  void  of  intellect,  which  are  but 
too  often  its  concomitants,  from  the  mistaken  notion  that  out- 
ward beauty  is  omnipotent,  and  needs  no  help  within. 

To  hide  from  a  young  girl  that  she  is  beautiful  is  the  extreme 
of  folly,  for  her  mirror  will  tell  her  that  she  is  being  deceived, 
and  the  influence  of  such  informers  will  be  lost  at  once      No— 


114  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

let  the  real  value  and  consequent  responsibility  of  beauty  be 
inculcated,  and  there  will  be  no  fear  of  its  abuse. 

That  Rachel  had  many  most  endearing  qualities  we  may 
quite  infer  from  Jacob's  devoted  love  to  her  even  to  her  death. 
The  spirit  most  impatient  under  contradiction,  and  lovin<r  its 
own  will,  is  often  united  to  a  manner  so  engaging,  and  qualities 
so  calculated  to  win  regard,  that  trivial  faults  of  temper  and  will 
are  literally  engendered  from  the  difficulty  it  is  to  reprove  a 
being  so  beautiful  and  so  beloved ;  and  this  would  seem  the 
case  with  Rachel.  Young,  joyous,  and  loving,  we  may  fancy 
her  the  very  star  of  her  father's  home,  valuing  her  beauty  as  it 
gave  her  power  to  obtain  whatever  she  willed  uncontradicted, 
but  using  it  only  in  the  sphere  of  home. 

But  though  Jacob's  affections  were  devoted  to  ^ne  alone, 
those  seven  years  of  intimate  association  must  have  been  fraught 
with  suffering  and  sadness  to  Laban's  elder  daughter,  whose 
strong  affection  for  Jacob  the  sequel  will  reveal.  Her  compelled 
agency  in  her  father's  fraud  must  have  been  fraught  with 
absolute  horror  to  a  heart  that  loved  secretly  and  unreturned, 
as  herself,  and  heightened  the  trial  of  unrequited  affection  in  no 
ordinary  degree. 

We  will  not  linger  on  the  affairs  narrated  in  Genesis  xxix., 
from  the  21st  to  the  30th  verse,  because  they  belong  so  strictly 
to  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Eastern  nations,  that  it  is 
quite  impossible  to  comment  upon  them  with  any  justice, 
prejudiced,  as  birth  and  education  cannot  fail  to  make  us,  in 
favoi  3f  the  manners  and  customs  of  modern  Europe.  Yet  the 
customs  of  the  East  have  undergone  little  or  no  change ;  and 
repeatedly  we  find  that,  which  in  the  narratives  of  the  Bible 
may  startle  our  modern  European  notions,  as  strange  and 
improbable,  confirmed  by  events  passing  in  the  East  at  this  very 
day,  so  that  those  very  narratives  would  there  be  scarcely 
considered  a  history  of  the  past. 

Though  beguiled  into  another  seven  years'  servitude  for  his 
much-loved  Rachel,  it  is  evident  that  she  had  become  his  wife 
Jirst,  Jacob  honorably  performing  the  word  he  had  pledged, 
after  the  wished-for  prize  had  been  obtained ;  and  not  till 
those  seven  years  were  completed,  do  we  hear  him  utter  one 
word  of  complaint  or  one  wish  to  provide  for  "his  own  house 
also." 

"  And   when  the  Lord  saw   that  Leah   was  hated  (lit.  less 


PERIOD       I.  LEAH       AND       RACHEL,  175 

loved),  He  gave  her  children,  but.  Rachel  had  none.  Anl  she 
called  the  name  of  her  eldest  son  Reuben  :  for,  she  said,  "Surely 
the  Lord  hath  looked  ui)on  iny  affliction  ;  now  therefore  my 
husband  will  love  me."  What  a  volume  of  woin^ia's  deepest 
feelings  and  the  compassionating  love  of  the  Eternai  do  these  brief 
lines  reveal !  He  who  had,  in  His  inscrutable  visdom,  ordained 
that  Leah  should  be  tried  in  the  fiery  ordeal  a'  woman's  saddest 
loneliness,  unrequited  affection,  yet  deigned  to  grant  a  compen- 
sating blessing  in  all  the  sweet,  pure  feelings  of  a  mother's  love. 
Who  that  reads  but  this  one  verse  can  uphold  that  woman  is 
less  an  object  of  tender  love  and  compassion  to  her  God  than 
man  ?  Who  can  saj-  that  the  Mossic  records  are  silent  on  this 
head  ?  The  words  of  man  to  point  out  the  proper  station  and 
value  of  woman  we  need  not,  fo?  the  children  of  Israel  have  the 
WORD  OF  THEIR  GoD.  And  c?o  wc  not  still  recognise  the  God 
of  Leah  ?  His  ear  has  not  become  heavy  that  it  cannot  near, 
nor  His  arm  shortened  that  it  cannot  save.  And  though  He 
may  not  bestow  on  us  a  visible  and  audible  manifestation  of 
His  tender  compassion  as  on  Leah,  yet  we  may  be  certain  that 
He  will  grant  us  some  compensating  blessing  for  every  joy  of 
which  he  may  t)imk  fit  to  deprive  us.  And  even  for  those 
bitter  griefs,  which  from  their  nature,  their  seeming  selfishness, 
woman  shrinks  in  trembling  from  bringing  before  her  God,  and 
buries  them  in  her  own  heart  till  it  bleeds  at  every  pore, — Leah's 
history  proves  that  He  will  grant  peace  and  healing.  It  may 
be  that  a  wiser  and  kinder  will  than  her  own  has  flung  an  insu- 
perable barrier  between  woman's  heart  and  its  dearest  object ; 
and  impelled  her  by  all  that  is  refined  and  delicate  in  her 
character,  to  hide  deep  from  every  eye  the  anguish  which  is 
her  burden.  How  blessed  then  that  even  for  such  a  grief  there 
is  the  fount  of  healing  waters  still  in  the  word  of  God — that 
she  may  come  there  and  read,  not  only  the  abundance,  the 
fulness  of  his  love,  but  that  He  has  especial  tenderness  for  those 
by  earth  unloved  !  And  as  He  gave  Leah  children  because  she 
was  not  loved,  so  will  He  grant  such  suflferers  a  peace,  and  calm, 
and  joy  in  the  consciousness  of  His  unfailing  tenderness,  far 
surpassing  even  the  rich  and  glowing,  but  too  transient  happi- 
ness of  sympathy  on  earth. 

Leah  must  have  known  and  loved  the  Lord  long  before  the 
event  recorded,  else  she  had  not  thus  welcomed  the  birth  of  her 
<irst  child.     Eight  years  of  Jacob's  sojourn  in  her  fcither's  house- 


lie  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

hold  vv^juld  scarcely  have  been  sufficient  for  her  to  know  and  love 
her  cousVi's  invisible  God,  had  she  not  had  some  vague  yet  true 
notions  of  ^.\m  before. 

That  Jacob  should  often  have  alluded  to  the  God  of  his 
fathers,  and  narrated  the  wonderful  manifestations  of  His  provi- 
dence, and  that  S'lch  solemn  themes  should  have  fallen  with 
peculiar  impressivei'iess  on  the  heart  of  Leah,  and  but  Hghtly  on 
the  buoyant  impetuoi>§  Rachel,  may  be  inferred  from  .he  history 
of  both.  After  the  gods  of  her  father,  Leah  has  no  hankering 
whatever ;  her  reference,  "41  both  her  griefs  and  joys,  is  to  Jacob's 
God  alone. 

By  her  exclamation  at  the  birth  of  her  second  son,  we  may 
suppose  that  the  fond  hope  expressed  the  year  previous,  "  Now 
therefore  my  husband  will  lovi*  me,"  was  still  not  realized. 
"  Because  the  Lord  hath  heard  that  I  am  not  loved.  He  hath 
therefore  given  me  this  son  also."  To  many  the  repetition  of  a 
blessing  renders  it  invaluable,  and,  in  the  imperfection  of  our 
earthly  nature,  the  continued  disappointment  of  our  dearest 
wishes  would  have  rendered  the  heart  callons,  perhaps  repining, 
at  the  very  blessing  which  had  before  brought  joy.  But  not 
thus  was  it  with  Leah :  gratefully  she  received  a  second  little 
treasure  from  the  hand  of  her  God  ;  and,  bearing  again  the  pang 
of  ever-blighted  hope,  she  utters  no  wish  of  an  eartWy  kind,  but 
simply  feels  she  has  still  the  love  of  God.  Another  year,  and 
another  son  is  granted ;  and  we  ma}^  trace  a  ray  beaming  even 
through  her  earthly  darkness,  in  the  new  upspringing  of  buoy- 
ant hope — "Now  will  my  husband  be  joined  unto  me,  for  I  have 
borne  him  three  sons." 

Whether,  indeed,  the  fond  wish  was  realized,  and  Jacob's 
heart  was  softened  towards  her,  must  be  but  conjecture  ;  yet  it 
would  almost  appear  so,  for,  at  the  birth  of  her  fourth  son,  her 
pious  heart  is  satisfied  with  the  fervent  ejaculation,  "  Now  will  I 
praise  the  Lord."  Drawn  closer  and  closer  unto  her  God,  with  His 
every  precious  gift,  she,  who  gave  her  first-born  a  name  signifying 
"  the  son  of  affliction,"  gave  her  fourth  the  beautiful  appellation 
of  "  praise  unto  the  Lord."  It  was  not  only  a  gift  of  children, 
then,  His  love  bestowed.  He  had  brought  light  from  darkness, 
He  had  turned  her  mouiiiing  into  praise,  and  returned  with  ten- 
fold blessing  her  meek  enduring  confidence  in  Him.  Shall  we 
then,  who  may  be  in  the  darkness  of  sorrow  and  heavy  care, 
shrink  from  walking  in  her  steps,  and  dwell  only  on  the  ajlic- 


PERIOD      I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  117 

tion  which  is  ours  ?  Shall  we  not  also  look  and  strive  for  some 
blessing  which  can  bid  us  too  "  praise  the  Lord,"  and  lead  us  to 
behold  li[/ht  where  all  was  heaviness  ?  There  is  no  lot  so  deso- 
late which,  if  we  seek  Him,  the  Lord  will  not  bless:  not, 
perhaps,  by  the  removal  of  our  present  sorrow,  but  by  some 
compensating  mercy.  We  must  not  suppose  that  seeking  Him 
and  loving  Him  will  exempt  us  from  affliction.  No,  for,  if  it  did, 
where  would  be  that  heavenly  exercise  which  alone  can  fit  us  for 
heaven  ?  Nor  are  we,  as  some  enthusiasts  would  urge,  to  regard 
trials  as^oys,  and  welcome  them  with  gladness.  When  a  ten- 
der loving  parent  chastises  a  beloved  child  to  keep  him  from  the 
paths  of  sin,  would  he  feel  that  the  chastisement  had  done  its 
work  if  the  little  being  received  it  with  smiles  and  rejoicing? 
Sui-elv  the  parent  would  be  more  hopeful  if  the  child  were  serious, 
and  even  sad.  And  is  it  not  so  with  the  afflictions  sent  frora 
our  eternal  and  most  tender  Father  ?  We  may  think  that  we 
surely  need  them  not ;  and  our  lives  may  even  be,  in  the  sight 
of  man,  as  we  ourselves  suppose  them.  Nay,  they  may  be  num- 
bered amongst  those  whom  the  Bible  gives  us  promise  shall  be 
accounted  the  righteous  in  the  sight  of  God  ;  yet  how  know  we 
what  we  might  have  been  luithout  such  affliction  ?  How  know 
we  but  those  very  sorrows,  lasting  but  a  time,  are  preparing  us 
to  be  of  those  whom  the  Lord  writeth  in  His  book  for  eternity, 
who  shall  be  His  when  He  maketh  up  His  jewels  ?  Of  this  only 
are  we  certain,  that  the  Lord  loveth  whom  He  correcteth.  Then, 
while  like  Leah  we  feel  affliction,  let  us  hope  on,  pray  on,  with 
uudoubting  faith,  that  one  day  we  too  shall  cry  aloud,  "  Now 
will  1  praise  the  Lord." 

Very  different  to  the  meek  submissiveness  and  gentle  disposi- 
tion of  her  elder  sister,  is  the  impetuous  temper  and  sinful 
feeling  of  envy  which  urged  Rachel  angrily  to  exclaim,  even  to 
her  doting  husband,  "  Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die.  And 
Jacob's  anger  was  kindled  against  Rachel  :  and  he  said,  Am  I 
in  God's  stead,  who  hath  withheld  children  from  thee  ? 

We  have  been  previously  told, — "  And  when  Rachel  saw  that 
she  bare  .Jacob  no  children,  she  envied  her  sister."  Envied 
whom  ?  even  the  homely,  the  unloved  Leah.  It  was  not  enough 
that  God  had  endowed  her  with  most  surpassing  beauty,  and 
given  her  the  perfect  love  of  a  husband  who  had  proved,  was  still 
proving  his  devoted  attachment  to  herself  alone,  by  fourteen 
years'  hard  servitude.     It  signified  little  that  Leah  had  but  her 


118  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

children^  and  that  her  own  cup  of  blessings  was  filled  to  flowing 
over. 

In  glancing  over  the  history  of  the  two  sisters,  must  we  not  feel 
that  Kachel  ought  to  be  the  happier,  as  she  was  the  more  bless- 
ed ?  Yet  it  was  not  so.  Leah,  with  her  heavy  burden  of 
affliction,  was  the  happier,  for  she  neither  envied  nor  complained, 
but  leaned  upon  her  God — and  in  consequence,  from  Him 
received  consolation.  Rachel  could  have  had  no  such  stay. 
"  Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die !"  was  the  exclamation  of  a 
querulous,  self-willed  spirit,  looking  only  to  man,  and  depending 
upon  him.  Yet  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  must  have  been 
eijually  revealed  to  Rachel  as  to  her  sister.  Daughters  of  the 
same  household,  cousins  of  the  same  witness  of  God, — Jacob's 
religious  education  and  experience  must  have  been  imparted  to 
her  also.  She  may  have  even  listened  during  the  time  for 
Jacob's  sake,  banishing  its  recollection  entirely  afterwards,  as  a 
theme  much  too  solemn  and  grave  for  her  present  joyous  days. 
And  are  there  not  such  even  now,  deeming  religion  and  her  rich 
train  of  holy  and  blessed  thoughts,  quite  incompatible  with  youth 
and  beauty,  and  who  believe  age  is  time  enough  to  think  of  such 
serious  things  ? 

That  her  feeling  and  its  expression  were  both  wrong  we  per- 
ceive by  Jacob's  anger  and  reproof  Loving  Rachel  as  he  did, 
it  must  have  been  something  very  blamable  to  call  severity  from 
his  lips.  Ignorance  may  excite  our  pity,  but  not  our  blame. 
Had  Rachel  been  ignorant  who  had  blessed  her  sister  with  chil- 
dren, Jacob  would  have  answered  differently — but  her  impatient 
words  caused  his  "  anger  to  be  kindled  against  her,"  because  he 
felt  and  knew  that  they  must  have  come  from  a  spirit  as  impa- 
tient as  rebellious,  and  were  therefore  likely  to  excite  the 
displeasure  of  the  Lord.  "  Am  I  in  God's  stead  ?"  meaning,  can 
I  give  you  children  if  God  hath  withheld  them.  Words  brief, 
but  impressively  proving  Jacob's  individual  dependence  on  and 
trust  in  his  God,  and  which  ought  to  have  subdued  and 
humbled  the  discontent  and  envy  of  his  wife.  But  though  they 
checked  the  querulous  ivords,  they  had  no  power  to  change  the 
\ns\ &\-i\  feelings,  and  determined  at  all  risks,  all  sacrifices,  to  obtain 
children  also,  she  followed  the  example  of  Sarah,  and  forced  her 
husband,  by  increasing  the  number  of  his  wives,  to  undergo  all 
the  miseries  of  a  divided  household. 

Yet.  when  Bilhah  had  a  son,  we  find  Rachel  welcoming  him 


PERIOD       I. LKAII       AND       RACHEL.  119 

with  such  a  joyful  thanksgiving,  and  as  a  gift  from  God — that 
we  might  wonder  at  her  forniiir  impatience — did  we  not  know, 
tliat  there  are  many  who  trace  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and  think 
they  love  and  serve  Him,  when  all  of  hfe  is  smooth  and  smiling, 
yet  act,  at  the  first  trial,  for  the  first  cross,  as  if  they  knew  Him  not 
at  all,  and  denied  His  power  to  help  and  save.  "  God  hath 
judged  me,  and  hath  also  heard  my  voice,  and  hath  given  me  a 
son."  Had  she  then  prayed — and  did  she  recognise  in  thought- 
fulness  the  answer  to  her  prayer?  Or  was  her  exclamation  at 
the  birth  of  Dan  but  a  presumptuous  supposition  from  a 
presumptuous  spirit — believing  without  due  authority  that  she 
had  prevailed  with  God  ?  We  have  not  sufficient  authority  in 
Scripture,  to  pronounce  judgment  one  way  or  the  other  on  this 
point,  and  must  therefore  leave  it  to  the  consideration  of  our 
readers. 

Once  only  do  words  of  sorrowing  reproach  escape  Leah's  lips 
towards  her  sister.  "  Is  it  a  small  matter  that  thou  hast  taken 
my  husband  ?"  Words  simply  expressive  of  the  natural  pang 
which  must  sometimes  have  entered  her  heart — when  year  after 
year  passed,  and  still  beheld  her  deep  affections  less  valued 
than  the  lighter  love  of  Rachel. 

Two  other  sons  were  born  unto  the  elder  sister ;  and  one 
daughter,  a  blessing  which  had  never  before  been  vouchsafed  the 
patriarchs.  Then  it  was,  "  that  God  remembered  Rachel ;  and 
God  heai-kened  to  her  and  gave  her  children."  "  God  remem- 
bered Rachel."  Had  He  forgotten  ?  no,  neither  forgutfulness 
nor  memory  dwelleth  with  God — for  He  is  omniscient  as  omni- 
potent, knowing  and  perceiving  all.  But  when  speaking  of  Him, 
His  dealings  with  His  children  must  be  expressed  in  language, 
and  by  images  suite'd  to  their  finite  conception, — not  according 
to  the  adorable  and  glorious,  but  unfathomable  infinity  surround- 
ing Him.  He  thought  upon  and  hearkened  to  her — for  such  is, 
equally  with  remember,  the  meaning  of  the  term — pnvfij)!  Cfibs 
^3T'^]  U'^rtx  Tp^t^  'Sly6'^;\ — words,  how  full  of  consolation  and 
encouragement  to  Rachel's  female  descendants  !  Man  would  have 
condemned,  and  sentenced  her  to  a  chastisement  of  perpetual 
childlessness — for  the  tenderest  mercies  of  humanity  are  cruel 
compared  to  the  tender  mercies  of  the  Most  High  !  but  He  whom 
she  had  offended  by  mistrust,  forgetfulness,  impatience,  angry 
emotions   towards  her   sister,  had   compassion,   and  not  only 


120  THE      "WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

"  remembered"  that  she  was  a  weak  and  yearning  woman,  but 
"  hearkened"  to  her  supplications,  and  gave  reply. 

"  God  liath  taken  away  ray  reproach,"  Rachel  gratefully 
exclaimed.  "And  she  called  his  name  Joseph,  and  said,  the 
Lord  shall  add  unto  her  another  son."  Could  she  have  pene- 
trated futurity — well  indeed  might  she  have  felt  that  God  had 
removed  her  reproach  ;  for  who  that  reflects  on  the  angelic 
beauty  and  faultlessness  of  Joseph,  can  recall  his  mother  without 
bestowing  on  her  a  portion  of  the  love  and  veneration  we  lavish 
on  her  son  1 

It  is  when  oowed  down  by  inward  remorse  for  a  conscious- 
ness of  innate  sinfulness,  by  the  impossibility  of  realizing  that 
perfect  holiness  which  would  guard  us  from  approach  to  wrong 
either  in  act  and  thought  towards  our  fellow  creatures,  or  in 
mistrust  and  forgetfulness  of  God,  that  we  should  remember  the 
history  of  Rachel  and  take  comfort.  There  are  some,  who, 
unable  to  bear  the  sting  of  an  awakened  conscience,  drown  it 
altogether,  by  fleeing  from  every  holy  exercise  of  prayer  and  self- 
examination,  and  believe  that  as  in  this  life  we  must  be  liable  to 
occasional  faults,  it  is  perfectly  useless  striving,  much  less  praying 
against  them,  as  such  prayer  can  be  of  no  service,  and  is  but  a 
mockery  before  God.  Some  minds  may  bear  this  awful  state — to 
others,  the  y(Hing,  the  deeper  feeling,  and  more  yearning  hearts, 
it  is  a  period  of  absolute  anguish — which,  without  some  spiritual 
help,  is  impossible  to  be  sustained  ;  and  so  religion  is  cast  oft"  as  a 
subject  of  terror,  of  suffering,  and  the  world  and  the  world's  pana- 
ceas substituted  in  its  place.  To  such,  more  especially  if  they  be 
women,  we  would  say.  Come  but  to  the  word  of  God — and  even 
for  such  griefs  there  is  all  we  need.  There  the  Eternal  not  only 
proclaims  "  Himself  a  God  full  of  compassion,  long  suffering, 
abundant  in  goodness  and  mercy,  forgiving  iniquity,  transgres- 
sion, and  sin,"  but  proves  these  consohng  and  most  blessed 
attributes,  not  only  after,  but  before  they  were  proclaimed. 
Rachel  was  more  ffiulty  than  many  of  her  sex,  yet  her  prayers 
were  heard,  her  affliction  compassionated,  her  wish  fulffUed. 
How  may  we  then  despair,  or  think  that  the  infirmities  of  our 
mortal  frame  and  the  sinfulness  they  bring,  can  throw  a  barrier 
between  us  and  our  God  ?  It  is  not  to  the  righteous  alone  He 
awardeth  mercy  and  love,  but  to  the  contrite  and  humble  spirit, 
with  whom  the  "  High  and  Holy  One  who  inhabiteth  eternity 
delighteth  to  dwell."     With  such  proofs  we  may  not  despair,  we 


PERIOD      I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  121 

dare  not  doubt,  but  we  are  called  to  Him  as  little  children  sorrow- 
ing to  be  forgiven,  in  tlie  full  consciousness  how  deeply  we  are 
loved. 

It  was  after  the  birth  of  Joseph,  that  Jacob's  fourteen  years  of 
servitude  being  completed,  he  said  unto  Laban, "  Send  me  away 
unto  mjne  own  place,  and  to  my  country.  Give  me  my  wives 
and  children  for  whom  I  have  served  thee,  and  let  me  go,  for 
thou  knowest  the  service  which  I  have  done  thee.  And  Laban 
said  unto  him,  I  pray  thee,  if  I  have  found  favor  in  thine  eyes, 
tarry ;  for  I  have  learned  by  experience,  that  the  Lord  hath 
blessed  me  for  thy  sake  :  and  he  said  appoint  me  thy  wages,  and 
I  will  give  it.  And  he  said  unto  him,  thou  knowest  how  I  have 
served  thee,  and  how  thy  cattle  was  with  me — for  it  was  little 
before  I  came,  and  now  it  is  increased  into  a  multitude,  and  the 
Lord  has  blessed  thee  since  my  coming ;  now  when  shall  I  pro- 
vide for  mine  own  house  also.  And  he  said,  what  shall  I  give 
thee  ?     And  Jacob  said   thou  shalt  not  give  me  anything." 

And  that  agreement  followed  which  has  most  unjustly 
exposed  Jacob  to  the  accusation  of  duplicity  and  fraud.  It  is 
supposed  that  his  plan  of  placing  the  peeled  rods  in  the  drink- 
ing troughs  occasioned  the  greater  number  of  the  cattle  to  be 
"  ring-straked,  speckled,  and  spotted  ;"  and  in  that  manner  Laban 
was  defrauded,  and  Jacob  received  much  more  than  his  due. 
That  Jacob  refused  all  gifts  from  Laban,  appears  to  me  to  origin- 
ate in  the  same  feeling  which  actuated  Abraham  to  refuse  gifts 
from  the  king  of  Sodom,  "  lest  he  should  say,  I  have  made 
Abraham  rich."  Depending  upon  Him  who  had  promised,  "  I 
will  not  leave  thee  until  I  have  done  that  which  I  have  spoken 
to  thee  of,"  Jacob  neither  could  nor  would  accept  gifts  from  man, 
preferring  to  work  himself,  and  leave  the  issue  in  the  hands  of 
God.  And  this  he  did,  and  God  blessed  him  with  riches  suffi- 
cient for  his  need. 

Can  it  be  supposed  for  one  moment,  after  mature  consideration, 
that  the  cattle  could  have  become  ring-straked,  speckled,  and 
spotted,  without  the  immediate  agency  of  God,  who  had  deter- 
mined thus  to  provide  ft)r  His  believing  servant  ?  Can  it  be 
believed  that  it  was  in  the  power  of  man,  by  however  subtle  a 
scheme  in  appearance,  to  create  a  variety  in  the  cattle,  unless  the 
Lord  also  had  so  willed  it  ?  Laban  had  not  behaved  as  generously 
or  even  as  fairly  by  his  nephew  as  his  first  affectionate  welcome 
might  lead  us  to  suppose.     We  know  from  the  vows  of  Jacob 


122  THE      "WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

himself,  which  Laban  does  not  contradict,  that,  "  except  the  God 
of  uij  fathers  had  been  with  me,  surely  tjiou  hadst  now  sent  me 
away  empty."  And  we  may,  therefore,  rest  perfectly  content, 
that  in  the  affair  of  the  cattle  no  blame  can  be  attached  to  Jacob. 
He  was  but  a  secondary  cause,  whose  scheme  would  have  been 
entirely  vain  had  it  not  been  blessed  by  the  Eternal. 

Increasing  exceedingly  in  much  cattle,  and  maid-servants  and 
men-servants,  and  camels,  and  asses,  the  wrath  and  envy  of 
Laban's  sons  were  excited  towards  him.  And  he  saw  that 
Laban's  own  countenance  was  not  towards  him  as  before — cir- 
cumstances which  must  have  excited  much  human  anxiety  and 
fear.  And  then  it  was  the  Lord  said  unto  him,  "Return  ur,to 
the  land  of  thy  fathers  and  thy  kindred,  and  I  will  be  with 
thee." 

"  And  Jacob  sent  and  called  Rachel  and  Leah  to  the  field 
unto  his  flock."  And  in  the  perfect  confidence  of  love  and 
respect,  imparted  all  to  them.  "  I  see  your  father's  countenance 
is  not  towards  us  as  before  ;  but  the  God  of  my  fethers  has  been 
with  me.  And  ye  know  that  with  all  my  power  I  have  served 
your  father  ;  and  your  father  has  deceived  me,  and  changed  my 
wages  ten  times  ;  but  God  suffered  him  not  to  hurt  me.  If  he 
said  thus.  The  speckled  shall  be  thy  wages,  then  all  the  cattle 
bare  speckled  ;  and  if  he  said  thus,  The  ring-straked  shall  be  thy 
hire,  then  all  the  cattle  bare  ring-straked.  llius  God  hath 
taken  away  the  cattle  of  your  father,  and  given  them  to  me." 

There  is  something  to  me  peculiarly  beautiful  in  this  simple 
address  of  Jacob,  spoken  as  it  is  to  his  wives.  Not  a  word  of 
reproach  on  their  father,  but  the  simple  truth — infinitely  more 
expressive  of  the  wrong  he  has  suffered  than  any  violence  or 
invective.  All  that  has  blessed  him,  he  traces  unfailingly  to  God. 
The  whole  of  his  address,  from  the  5th  to  the  13th  verse  of  Gen. 
xxxi.,  demands  attention  from  its  revealing  so  much  more  con- 
cerning Laban's  real  conduct  to  his  nephew,  and  in  what  manner 
that  conduct  was  regarded  and  overruled  by  the  Eternal,  than 
we  can  learn  by  the  bare  narration  of  the  previous  chapter. 
Our  present  subject  forbids  our  lingering  on  it,  except  to  say,  it 
completely  absolves  Jacob  from  all  fraudulent  dealings  with  his 
uncle,  while  it  reveals  that  he  himself  was  the  victim  of  deceit. 

The  mandate  of  God  was  in  Jacob's  ear,  and  every  emotion 
of  humanity  was  urging  him  to  tarry  not,  but  to  flee  at  once. 
He  had  dominion  over  all  his  household,  yet  he  waits  to  impart 


PERIOD      1. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  123 

his  wishes  and  his  fears  to  his  wives  :  he  will  make  no  step  in 
advance  without  their  concurrence ;  thus  at  once  proving  his 
love  and  their  equaHty.  And,  without  a  moment's  hesitation, 
Rachel  and  Leah  answered  and  said  unto  him,  "  Is  there  yet  any 
portion  or  inheritance  for  us  in  our  father's  house  ?  Are  we  not 
accounted  of  him  as  strangers  ?  for  he  hath  sold  us,  and  has  quite 
devoured  our  money.  For  all  the  riches  which  God  has  taiien 
from  our  father,  that  is  ours  and  our  children's.  Now  then, 
whatsoever  God  hath  said  unto  thee  do." 

Diflerent  as  the  sisters  were  in  disposition,  and  placed  in  a 
situation  most  likely  to  create  discord  and  disunion,  yet  when 
the  interests  of  a  beloved  husband  are  at  stake,  they  act  in  per- 
fect unity  and  love.  There  is  no  "  mine  and  thine" — words  how 
often  fraught  with  discord — but  simply  "  ours  and  our  children's." 
Seeking  even  to  reconcile  him  yet  more  to  his  flight — enriched 
as  he  was — by  stating  the  simple  fact,  that  Laban  had  failed  in 
his  duty  towards  them,  by  giving  them  neither  portion  nor 
inheritance  ;  and  by  having  sold  them  to  Jacob  for  fourteen 
years  of  labor.  That  which  God  then  had  marked  as  Jacob's 
share  of  the  flocks  and  herds,  was  but  their  right  and  their 
children's. 

Yet  it  must  have  been  a  trial  to  both  sisters  to  remove  so 
hastily  and  unexpectedly  with  their  young  children  from  the 
home  of  their  earliest  years,  without  even  bidding  farewell  to  the 
parent  they  had  loved  so  long,  to  their  brothers  and  their 
friends,  to  venture  on  a  strange  and  dangerous  track  to  a  land 
they  knew  not,  save  that  it  was  far  away  from  their  childhood's 
home.  We  already  know  where  Leah's  affliction  always  led  her, 
and  are,  therefore,  justified  in  believing  that  now,  as  before, 
prayer  was  the  soother  of  her  natural  sorrows,  and  her  confidence, 
that  even  if  her  father  pursued  them,  he  would  not  be  permitted 
to  work  them  harm.  But  Rachel  could  not  thus  realize  the  ever 
present,  ever  protecting  arm  of  the  Eternal  ;  and,  as  before  she 
had  sought  human  means  to  further  her  impatient  wishes,  so 
now  does  she  bear  away  with  her  sec  -etly  "  the  images  which 
were  her  father's  ;"  superstitiously  believing,  according  to  some 
commentators,  that  by  consulting  them,  Laban  would  discover 
their  route,  and  so  be  enabled  to  follow  and  arrest  them.  It  is 
sea.  -jely  possible  to  peruse  the  history  of  these  two  sisters  with- 
out being  struck  with  the  beautiful  unity  and  harmony  displayed 
in  their  two  characters — distinct  from  first  to  last,  and  each  pre- 


124  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

serving  her  individual  peculiarities.  Thrown  back  upon  herself,! 
from  wanting  the  attractions  of  beauty  and  vivacity  granted  tol 
her  younger  sister,  Leah's  graces  expanded  inwardly  and  spiri- ' 
tually ;  her  yearning  affections  always  strongest  from  never 
finding  vent  by  being  called  for  and  appreciated  by  man. 
Rejoicingly  and  gratefully  acknowledging  and  believing  the 
blessed  religion  wliich  told  her  of  an  unchanging  Friend  and 
most  tender  loving  Father,  she  found  in  such  belief  enough,  and 
could  realize  conti-nt  in  the  midst  of  trial,  happiness  in  the  midst 
of  grief.  Such  a  character  as  Leah's,  from  the  time  she  is 
revealed  to  us,  so  perfectly  free  from  all  wrong  feelings  in  a  situa- 
tion so  likely  to  excite  them,  is  not  natural  to  woman  ;  and  we 
may,  therefore,  infer  that  her  youth  had  had  its  trials,  which  the 
grace  of  God  had  blessed,  in  making  her  rise  from  them  the 
gentle,  endurinjr,  lovable  being  which  His  word  reveals. 

The  faults  of  Rachel  originated  in  the  very  cause  which  had 
been  a  chastening  to  her  sister.  Her  own  surpassing  loveliness, 
while  ever  the  theme  of  admiration  to  her  fellows,  so  raised  her 
in  her  own  estimation,  that  it  was  difficult  to  look  beyond  this 
world,  where  she  reigned  pre-eminent,  to  another,  where  she,  in 
all  her  beauty,  was  but  an  atom — a  creature  of  the  dust.  What 
to  her  was  the  love  and  protection  of  an  Invisible  Being,  when 
she  was  so  surrounded  by  the  love  and  care  of  man  ?  What  to 
her  needed  the  tale  of  future  happiness  ?  Was  she  not  joyous 
and  laughter-loving  the  livelong  day  ?  With  power  in  herself 
to  bend  all  hearts,  and  direct  all  circumstances  to  the  furtherance 
of  her  own  impetuous  will  ?  Such  we  must  believe  the  youth 
of  Rachel,  when  we  see  her  repining  that  children  were  granted 
to  her  sister  and  not  to  her.  We  behold  her  secretly  bearing 
away  the  gods  of  her  father — whether  from  the  reason  mention- 
ed above,  or  from  her  own  lingering  belief  in  their  efficacy  and 
power,  still  equally  reprehensible  in  the  wife  of  Jacob. 

If,  indeed,  Rachel  supposed  that  in  removing  the  images  she 
prevented  her  father  from  discovering  their  route,  she  very 
speedily  found  herself  mistaken.  Jacob  had  stolen  "  away 
unawares  from  Laban  the  Syrian,  in  that  he  told  him  not  that  he 
fled ;  so  he  fled  with  all  that  he  had,  and  he  rose  up,  and 
passed  over  the  river,  and  set  his  face  toward  the  mount 
Gilead."  And  there,  seven  days  after  their  hasty  flight,  Laban 
overtook  him  with  all  his  kindred,  and  sufficient  followers  "  to 
do  them  hurt,"  "  Had  not  the  God  of  your  father,"  he  said, 


PERIOD       I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  125 

"  spake  unto  me  yesternight,  saying,  Take  thou  heed  that  thou 
speak  not  to  Jacob  good  or  bad.'' 

Anxiously  and  fearfully,  according  to  their  diflferent  charac- 
ters, must  Leah  and  Rachel  have  awaited  the  issue  of  the 
conference.  The  number  of  followers  argued  ill ;  yet  the  words 
of  Laban  were  at  first  but  mild  reproach.  "  Wherefore  didst 
thou  flee  away  secretly,  and  steal  away  from  me,  and  didst  not 
tell  me,  that  I  might  have  sent  thee  away  with  mirth  and  with 
songs,  with  tabret  and  with  harp :  and  hast  not  sufiered  me  to 
kiss  my  sons  and  daughters  ?  Thou  hast  done  foolishly  in  so 
doing." 

We  may  well  suppose  words  as  these,  being  fi'aught  with 
self-reproach  to  affectionate  daughters,  that  they  had  indeed  so 
left  their  father.  To  Leah  his  next  words,  alluding  to  the 
"  God  of  thy  father,"  must  have  been  particularly  and  gratefully 
soothing.  He  to  whom  she  prayed  was  indeed  ever  around  them, 
turning  aside  the  wrath  of  men,  forbidding  him  to  arouse  wrath 
by  "speaking  either  bad  or  good."  Holy  writ  does  not  indeed 
tell  us,  that  Leah  prayed  in  this  instance ;  but  she  who  welcomed 
the  birth  of  every  child  with  prayer  and  thanksgiving — who  in 
no  instance  had  recourse  to  her  father's  gods — was  not  likely  to 
forget  her  husband's  God  when  his  protection  was  so  needed. 
We  may  be  permitted  to  believe  she  prayed ;  and  can  we  not 
imagine  the  fervor  of  her  grateful  thanksgiving  when  she  heard 
such  words  from  her  father  ?  And  we  may  all  experience  this. 
There  is  not  one  who  has  addressed  the  Lord  in  prayer — the 
daily  prayer  for  all  things,  who  can  say  he  has  had  no  answer. 
And  oh !  who  would  not  realize  the  glowing  of  the  heart — the 
burst  of  thanksgiving  which  fills  it — when  we  trace  his  hand  in 
the  daily  events  of  life,  and  feel  that  that  which  we  have  asked 
for  He  has  given  ?  But  to  realize  this,  we  must  come  to  Him 
in  all  things.  We  must  pray  to  Him  in  our  hearts  as  well  as 
with  our  lips  ;  we  must  think  individual  prayer  as  well  as  those 
public  petitions  framed  for  us.  We  must  be  in  the  constant 
habit  of  tracing  all  things  to  His  almighty  hand,  and  believe  that 
his  love  is  as  deep,  as  pitying,  for  us  individually,  as  his  bounty 
is  shown  throughout  the  world.  We  must  so  commune  with 
Him,  that  the  hours  of  prayer  will  feel  but  the  continuation, 
not  the  commencement  and  end  of  devotion.  Did  we  but  do 
this — bring  before  Him  every  care,  and  thought,  and  grief,  and 
joy,  and  doubt,  and  thankfulness — how  many,  many  instances 


126  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

of  answered  prayer  would  the  briefest  life  recall.  Then,  oh  ! 
how  can  we  keep  Him  far  from  us,  by  withholding  from  Him 
the  wishes  which  He  alone  has  power  to  grant,  the  sorrows 
which  He  alone  has  compassion  sufBcient  to  heal  ? 

On  Rachel's  ear,  the  words  which  filled  her  sister's  heart  with 
deepest  thankfulness  must  have  fallen  little  heeded,  while  those 
which  followed  them,  utterly  meaningless  to  Leah,  must  have 
been  frauo^ht  to  her  with  wildest  terror,  fearfully  increased  by 
the  instant  answer  of  her  husband  : — "  And  now,  though  thou 
wouldst  needs  be  gone,  because  thou  sore  longedst  after  thy 
father's  house,  yet  wherefore  hast  thou  stolen  my  gods  ?  And 
Jacob  answered  and  said  (in  reply  to  Laban's  previous  words  of 
reproach),  Because  I  was  afraid,  for  I  said,  peradventure  thou 
wouldst  take  by  force  thy  daughters  from  me."  And  then, 
with  regard  to  the  last  accusation  :  "  With  whomsoever  thou 
findest  thy  gods  let  him  not  live.  Before  our  brethren  discover 
what  is  thine,  and  take  it  to  thee.  For  Jacob  knew  not  that 
Rachel  had  stolen  them." 

That  she  had  concealed  the  theft  from  her  husband  proves 
at  once  that  she  knew  the  feelings  dictating  it  were  wrong,  yet 
had  not  sufficient  moral  courage  to  resist  them.  And  now 
what  must  have  been  her  terrors  ?  Not  only  was  the  plan 
which  she  had  adopted  to  prevent  a  hostile  meeting  between 
her  father  and  husband,  apparently  about  to  be  the  very  means 
of  dissension,  but  if  discovered,  JacoV/s  own  lips  had  pronounced 
her  death-doom.  We  know  not  if  in  the  patriarchal  times 
death  was  usually  the  punishment  awarded  to  criminals  convicted 
of  theft ;  but  it  is  evident  that  Jacob  fully  intended  the  criminal 
in  his  household  to  suffer  even  death  for  his  offence,  by  the 
sacred  historian  so  expressly  declaring  that  "  Jacob  knew  not 
that  Rachel  had  stolen  them."  How  could  he  suspect  the  wife 
of  his  bosom — his  best  beloved — of  such  theft  as  might  almost 
convict  her  of  idolatry  ! 

Little  did  he  dream  whom  he  was  condemning,  or  the  misery 
he  would  have  drawn  upon  himself,  had  not  the  God  who  had 
promised  to  bring  him  to  his  father's  home  in  peace,  here  inter- 
posed, and  saved  both  him,  and  for  his  sake,  and  the  sake  of 
His  own  great  name,  the  faulty  Rachel. 

Yet  during  the  period  of  Laban's  search  for  the  images,  till 
the  danger  of  discovery  was  quite  past,  how  terrible  must  have 
been  her  alarm,  and  how  painful  her  emotions  !     How  different 


PERIOD       I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  I2l 

from  the  meek  quietude  of  a  holy  spirit,  at  peace  with  itself  and 
its  God,  which  throughout  this  interview  was  Leah's  !  Yet  no 
doubt,  true  to  the  contrarieties  of  imperfect  humanity,  when 
discovery  was  averted,  and  Laban  found  not  the  gods,  Rachel 
only  fell  penetrated  Avith  pious  gratitude,  and  resolved  to  keep 
her  fault  more  strictly  secret  from  her  husband  than  ever. 
Some  commentators,  I  believe,  accuse  her  of  an  inclination  to, 
if  not  of  direct,  idolatry  ;  but  we  do  not  think  that  Holy  Writ 
sufficiently  authorizes  such  a  charge.  Superstition,  the  remains 
of  childhood's  tales,  which  urged  her  to  the  course  of  acting 
with  regard  to  the  images  already  dilated  upon,  is  not  in  the 
least  incompatible  with  her  recognition  of,  and  belief  in,  Jacob's 
God,  even  though  the  images  remained  with  her  until  Jacob 
bade  them  "  put  away  the  strange  gods  that  were  amongst 
them,"  nearly  seven  years  afterwards.  As  his  household  con- 
sisted only  of  those  who  had  lived  with  Laban  he  might  easily 
have  supposed  the  strange  gods  theirs,  and  Rachel  had  thus  an 
opportunity  of  resigning  them,  without  causing  her  husband  the 
suffering  it  would  have  been,  to  suspect  her  of  having  either 
stolen  them  at  first,  or  harbored  them  so  long. 

There  is  something  very  beautiful  in  Laban's  parting  care  of 
his  daughters,  when  the  somewhat  warm  recrimination  between 
himself  and  Jacob  was  at  an  end.  The  heap  of  stones  was 
raised  by  all  who  had  met  in  wrath,  proving  their  reunion  by 
their  united  labor,  and  the  feast  which  all  shared  in  harmony 
when  the  work  was  concluded.  "  And  Laban  said.  This  heap 
is  a  witness  between  thee  and  me.  Therefore  was  the  name  of 
it  called  Gilead  and  Mizpah,  for  he  said,  the  Lord  watch 
between  me  and  thee  when  we  are  absent  one  from  another. 
If  thou  shalt  afflict  my  daughters,  or  if  thou  shalt  take  wives 
beside  my  daughters  (though  no  man  is  with  us),  see  God  is  witness 
betwixt  thee  and  me.  This  heap  be  my  witness,  and  this  pillar 
be  ray  witness,  that  I  will  not  pass  over  this  heap  to  thee,  and 
thou  shalt  not  pass  over  this  heap  and  this  pillar  unto  me  for 
harm.  The  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  God  of  Nahor,  and  the  God 
of  thy  father  judge  betwixt  us.  And  Jacob  swore  by  the  fear 
of  his  father  Isaac.  And  Jacob  offered  sacrifices  on  the  mount, 
and  called  his  brethren  to  eat  bread ;  and  they  did  eat  bread, 
and  tarried  all  night  in  the  mount.  And  early  in  the  morning 
Laban  rose  up,  and  kissed  his  sons  (i.  e.  grandsons)  and  daugh- 

VOL.   I.  V 


128  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

ters,  and  blessed  tliem  ;  and  Laban  departed,  and  returned  unto 
his  place." 

Thus  were  angry  feelings  calmed  and  soothed  by  a  mutual 
covenant  of  love.  While  to  the  wives  of  the  one,  and  the 
daughters  of  the  other,  how  thrice  blessed  must  have  been  the 
reconciliation  which  gave  them  again  the  dear  privilege  of  a 
father's  loving  kiss  and  parting  blessing !  We  learn  too,  from 
this  simple  narrative,  that  even  in  the  East,  a  multiplicity  of 
wives  was  decidedly  not  lawful,  and  that  Laban  considered  the 
rights  of  his  daughters  would  be  infringed,  and  so  call  upon 
him.  to  come  forward  in  their  defence,  even  to  break  the  cove- 
nant of  peace,  did  Jacob  take  any  other  wives.  Human  nature 
is  indeed  the  same  in  all  ages — for  as  Laban  spake  to  Jacob 
thousands  and  thousands  of  years  ago,  so  would  a  father  now. 
As  truly  as  the  Bible  reveals  the  truth,  the  beneficence,  the 
tenderness  of  God — so  truly  does  it  reveal  and  answer  every 
emotion  of  the  human  heart. 

As  our  task  is  a  record  only  of  Leah  the  wife  of  Jacob,  we 
must  pass  lightly  over  the  events  of  the  xxxii.  and  xxxiii.  chap- 
ters of  Genesis,  which  belong  exclusively  to  the  history  of  the 
patriarch  himself.  The  wrath  of  man  was  again  turned  aside, 
and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  made  Jacob  at  peace  even  with 
his  brother  Esau,  His  doubts  and  fears,  which  must  have 
extended  painfully  to  the  weaker  nature  of  his  wives,  at  news 
of  Esau's  armed  approach,  were  subdued  by  the  influence  of  his 
prayer,  and  the  long  separated  brothers  met  in  mutual  tenderness 
and  love.  They  did  not,  however,  long  remain  together.  Jacob 
and  his  family  proceeded  to  Succoth,  and  then  to  Shechem, 
where  he  "  bought  a  parcel  of  a  field,"  after  erecting  his  tents, 
and  "  built  there  an  altar,"  and  there  remained,  till  commanded 
by  the  Lord  to  "  arise  and  go  to  Bethel." 

The  period  of  these  sojournings  between  his  departure  from 
Padan-Aram,  to  his  proceeding  to  Bethel,  must  have  been  full 
seven  years.  The  then  tender  ages  of  his  younger  children,  and 
the  number  of  his  flocks  and  herds,  in  all  probability  prompted 
him  to  settle  his  residence  in  the  first  convenient  spot  in  the 
land  of  Canaan.  It  appears  strange  that  he  did  not  pursue  his 
way  without  any  pause  to  his ,  father's  house ;  but  it  is  one  of 
those  subjects  on  which  the  word  of  God  gives  us  no  informa- 
tion, and  therefore  may  be  dismissed  without  wasting  time  and 


PERIOD      I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  129 

thought  on  what  can  be  only  speculation.  At  Shechera,  Leah 
must  have  encountered  indeed  a  fiery  trial  in  the  insult  offered 
to  her  daughter,  and  the  guilty  conduct  of  her  sons — Simeon 
and  Levi.  Here,  as  elsewhere,  Jacob  was  punished  by  deception, 
causing  fear  ani  trouble,  as  he  justly  says  :  "  Ye  have  troubled 
me  to  make  me  to  stink  among  the  inhabitants  of  the  land, 
among  the  Canaanites  and  Perizzites,  and  I  being  few  in  nuna- 
bar,  they  shall  gather  themselves  against  me,  and  slay  me,  and 
1  shall  be  destroyed,  I  and  my  household." 

But  though  punished  for  the  sin  of  his  youth  by  mortal 
anxieties  and  fears  continually  darkening  around  him — the  God 
of  his  father  Abraham,  mindful  of  His  gracious  promise  to  that 
holy  man,  still  watched  over  Jacob,  and  reHeved  him  from 
threatening  danger  by  commanding  him  to  go  to  Bethel 
and  build  an  altar  there.  The  patriarch  without  hesitation 
obeyed — first  purifying  his  household  of  all  strange  gods  ; — and 
when  "  they  journeyed,  the  terror  of  God  was  upon  the  cities 
that  were  round  about  them,  and  they  did  not  pursue  after  the 
sons  of  Jacob."  Then,  as  now,  punishment  fell  not  at  once 
upon  the  sinning  ones.  They  were  preserved  to  work  out  their 
own  chastisement  in  furthering  the  will  of  their  God. 

At  Bethel.  God  again  appeared  unto  the  patriarch,  and  not 
only  reiterated  the  promise  made  to  his  fathers  and  to  himself, 
but  confirmed  the  change  of  name  from  Jacob  to  Israel ;  that 
holy  and  blessed  name  which  was  to  descend  through  thousands 
and  thousands  of  ages,  associated  for  ever  with  the  mercy  and 
the  love  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord — given  by  the  Eternal ;  a 
mark  of  especial  favor  from  the  King  of  kings,  expressing  that 
as  a  Prince  our  father  Jacob  had  power  with  God  and  with 
man,  and  had  prevailed.  Is  there,  can  there  be  one  amonwat 
the  descendants  of  this  prince  of  God's  creating,  ashamed  of  the 
name  he  bears  ?  Should  it  not  be  our  glory,  our  pride — of 
which  no  persecution,  no  injury,  no  wrong  can  rob  us  ?  Does 
not  its  very  sound  teem  with  the  wondrous  mercies  of  the  past 
— with  the  truth,  the  unanswerable  truth  of  revelation  ?  What 
scorner,  what  sceptic  can  point  the  finger  of  doubt  or  denial  at 
the  Bible — while  that  name  is  yet  heard  in  every  corner  of  the 
globe,  borne  by  the  very  descendants  of  him,  on  whom  by  God 
himself  it  was  bestowed  ?  The  watchword,  the  banner  of  our 
cause,  recognised  as  such  in  every  nation,  every  land — the  man 
or  woman  who  feels  ashamed  to  call  himself  of  Israel,  flings  scorn 


130  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL, 

upon  his  God.  Clieered  and  consoled  by  this  renewed  blessing 
of  God,  Jacob  proceeded  on  his  journey,  advancing  southward 
in  the  direction  of  Harare,  where  Isaac  his  father  then  was. 

Ephrah  was  nearly  reached,  when  the  sudden  illness  of 
Racing  compelled  the  whole  cavalcade  to  halt — and  Jacob  must 
have  beheld  with  inexpressible  anguish  his  best  beloved  wife 
torn  from  him,  at  the  very  moment  she  had  increased  his  joy 
and  her  own  by  giving  birth  to  a  second  son.  When  in  the 
midst  of  bodily  and  mental  anguish,  she  called  his  name  Benoni, 
son  of  my  sorrow,  did  she  think  of  her  own  impatient  words — 
"  Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die  !"  and  feel  that  it  would  have 
been  better  for  her  to  have  waited  for  the  Lord  ?  How  may  we 
answer  ?  Enough  for  us  to  benefit  by  the  record  vouchsafed, 
and  feel  His  will  is  better  than  our  own — and  in  impatient  rest- 
less longings  for  blessings  granted  to  another,  we  may  know, 
that  even  in  the  very  fulfilment  of  the  wish,  the  punishment  may 
fall. 

Rachel  committed  no  fault  in  wishing  for  a  child — her  fault 
had  been  envy  and  its  subsequent  discontent.  Years  had 
passed,  the  very  recollection  of  her  restless  discontent  may  have 
faded  from  her  mind,  but  not  from  His  whom  she  had  by  want 
of  faith  and  gratitude  oflFended.  In  His  infinite  mercy  lie  for- 
gave. He  blessed,  for  He  called  her  to  Himself  ere  the  evil  days 
came,  and  her  beloved  one  was  sold  by  his  brethren,  and  report- 
ed for  long  long  years  as  dead.  He  saved  the  mother  this  deep 
sufl:ering,  but,  in  His  justice  towards  her  and  love  to  her  descend- 
ants. He  chastised  by  an  early  and  painful  death,  the  most  trying 
separation  of  soul  and  body  which  human  nature  (so  to  speak) 
may  know.  Her  husband,  her  Joseph — her  new-born — sud- 
denly and  fearfully  the  silver  links  of  love,  binding  her  to  all  of 
these,  were  snapt  asunder,  and  she  might  know  her  place  on 
earth  no  more.  "  Give  me  children,  or  else  I  die."  Alas  !  the  too 
impatient  cry  was  heard  and  answered  ;  children  zi^ere  bestowed, 
and  with  them  death.  How  little  knew  she  what  she  asked  ! 
In  all  her  surpassing  loveliness,  in  the  full  possession  of  most 
faithful  love,  the  destroying  angel  came  and  snatched  her  tVom 
this  world.  Oh  !  will  not  this  teach  us  to  be  content  wilh  what 
God  has  given,  and  restrain  us  from  looking  with  secret  envy  on 
the  richer  (in  seeming)  blessings  of  another  ?  Will  it  not  bid  us 
beware  of  seeking  aught  of  good  only  because  it  belongs  to  a 
companion,  or  because  we  fancy  we  have  equal  right  to  its 


VEKIOD      I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  131 

possession,  by  the  losson  that,  even  were  it  ours,  we  might  have 
no  power  to  enjoy  it  ?  Death,  indeed,  may  not  come  between 
us  and  its  enjoyment;  but  that  which  we  have  coveted  loses  its 
vahie  the  moment  we  possess  it.  Will  not  the  warm  young 
heart  shrink  from  the  very  anticipation  of  the  sin  towards  God 
and  man  which  discontent  may  bring?  Let  us  think  more  of 
our  sorrowing  and  afflicted  fellow-creatures,  and  Ichs  of  those 
n)ore  blessed  in  outward  seeming.  Did  we  think  on  the 
bereaved,  the  physically  afflicted,  the  poor,  how  could  we  still 
retain  discontent  of  our  own  lot,  or  envy  of  our  fellow-creatures? 
And  oh  !  if  no  other  reasoning  will  avail,  let  us  remember,  our 
God  is  not  only  a  merciful,  tender  Father,  but  a  just  and  jealous 
God,  who  will  one  day,  we  know  not  when  or  how,  call  upon  us 
to  render  an  account  of  the  blessings  He  has  given  ;  and  if  we 
know  them  not,  how  may  we  answer  ?  Long  years  had  passed 
since  Rachel's  offence,  yet  He  who  slumbereth  not  nor  sleepeth, 
chastised  il  ia  the  very  hour  that  the  wish  which  caused  it  was 
fulfilled. 

It  may  be  asked  (as  in  similar  cases  of  bereavement  it,  alas  !  too 
often  is).  Why,  granting  that  the  lot  of  the  departed  is  blessed- 
ness, does  the  God  of  love  so  afflict  the  survivors  ?  Why  did 
He  cause  such  deep  grief  to  His  favored  servant  Jacob  ?  Because 
God  loved  him  ;  because  His  omniscience  had  seen  that  Rachel 
might  come  between  Jacob's  heart  and  his  God  ;  because  He 
would  demonstrate  to  futurity  that,  to  possess  His  favor.  His 
blessing,  does  not  in  any  manner  emancipate  us  from  trial  and 
suffering  in  this  world ;  because  He  would  lift  up  our  affections 
from  the  narrow  limits  of  this  world.  He  would  make  His  hea- 
ven a  dearer  home  than  our  earth.  He  would  people  it  with  the 
immortal  spirits  of  those  we  have  loved  on  earth,  that  we  may 
look  upon  it  no  longer  as  a  strange  land;  but  as  the  beautiful 
country  where  our  beloved  are  gone,  and  where  we  shall  follow. 
This  is  wherefore  He  bereaves,  and  therefore  even  in  the  bereave- 
ment there  is  love. 

There  is  no  mention  of  Jacob's  grief;  yet  in  the  very  silence 
of  Scripture,  in  some  points,  there  is  eloquence,  borne  out,  as  in 
this  case  it  is,  by  the  deep  love  he  bore  towards  Joseph  and 
Benjamin.  What  can  more  exquisitely  express  the  intensity  of 
that  love,  than  when  entreated  by  his  sons  to  let  Benjamin 
accompany  them  to  Egypt,  he  answered,  "  My  son  shall  not  go 
down  with  you  ;  for  his  brother  is  dead,  and  he  is  left  alone  :  if 


132  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

mischief  befal  him  in  the  way  which  ye  go,  then  shall  ye  bring 
my  grey  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the  grave."  "  He  is  left  alone,"  and 
yet  he  had  ten  brethren — alone  of  his  mother,  the  patriarch  felt 
— sole  record  of  that  beloved  one  whom  he  had  lost,  and  how 
might  he  let  him  depart  ?  It  is  impossible  to  reflect  on  Jacob's 
intense  love  for  Joseph  and  Benjamin,  without  fully  imagining 
the  sutFering  of  their  mother's  loss.  Silent  he  was,  for  who 
might  question  the  decrees  of  the  Most  High  ?  but  faith  and  lo\e 
for  our  Father  in  heaven  do  not  forbid  us  to  mourn.  We  are 
placed  hei'e  to  love  each  other ;  and  if  we  love  not  those  with 
whom  we  are  in  daily,  hourly  intercourse,  how  may  we  love  God  ? 
Without  love,  earth  would  be  a  desert  and  heaven  a  void. 

The  death  of  Leah  is  not  recorded ;  we  only  know  that  she 
did  not  accompany  the  patriarch  and  his  family  to  Egypt,  and 
that  she  was  buried  with  Abraham  and  Sarah,  Isaac  and 
Rebekah,  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah.  Left  dependent  on  her  ten- 
derness and  love,  the  extent  of  which  we  know,  Jacob  no  doubt 
lavished  warmer  affection  upon  her,  after  the  death  of  Rachel 
than  before.  How  gratefully  her  pious  heart  must  have  traced 
this  tranquil  calm,  which  probably  closed  her  days,  to  her  God, 
we  may  infer  from  the  thanksgiving  with  which  every  previous 
blessing  had  been  received.  But,  as  her  future  life  can  only  be 
suggestion,  much  as  imagination  may  love  to  dwell  upon  it,  our 
present  task  must  be  concluded.  We  have  dilated  already  at  so 
much  length  upon  the  characters  of  the  sisters,  and  the  instruc- 
tion and  consolation  therein  developed,  that  we  need  add  littlo 
further  now,  except  to  notice  what  has  always  appeared  a  remark- 
able manifestation  of  the  perfect  equality  of  the  sisters  in  their 
position  as  mothers  of  that  race  which  is  to  last  for  ever.  Ten 
tribes  are  lost — not  to  be  discovered  till  the  day  which  will 
behold  the  glorious  and  stupendous  miracle  of  our  restoration. 
The  two  which  remain  to  bear  witness  to  the  mercy  and  justice 
of  the  Eternal,  and  the  truth  of  His  word,  are  Judah,  the 
descendants  of  Leah,  and  Benjamin,  the  descendants  of  Rachel, 
from  one  or  other  of  which  every  Israelite  (except  the  represen- 
tatives of  the  Levites,  who  were  accounted  the  priests  of  the 
Lord,  not  of  the  twelve  tribes)  traces  his  descent. 

Shall  we  then  dismiss  the  beautiful  record  of  Leah  and  Rachel, 
which  the  word  of  God  contains,  as  a  mere  relation,  concerning 
an  age  so  long  past  as  to  appear  almost  febulous  and  obsolete  ? 
Shall   we  not  rather  take  it  to  our  hearts,  and,  as  women  of 


PERIOD      I. LEAH      AND      RACHEL.  133 

Israel,  feel  it  is  of  onr  own  ancestry  we  read  ?  Shall  we  not 
emulate  the  much  enduring  piety  of  Leah  ;  and  in  all  our  afflic- 
tions— even  in  that  of  a  lone  and  unloved  heart — turn  to  her 
God,  and  emulate  her  rejoicing  acknowledgment  of  blessings  at 
His  hand  ?  Shall  we  not  take  warning  of  the  loved  and  lovely 
Rachel,  and  feel  that  neither  beauty  nor  love — the  dearest  love 
of  man — can  aflbrd  us  hai)piness  and  joy,  unless  both  are  traced 
to,  and  held  from  the  grace  of  God  ?  That  not  in  outward 
attraction — not  even  in  human  love — can  blessedness  exist,  unless 
the  vital  spark,  to  give  them  rest  and  life  and  continuance,  hath 
dwelling  within,  to  hft  up  the  whole  soul  to  God.  O  better — 
far  better — homeliness  of  form  and  face,  with  a  guileless  con- 
tented heart.  Better — far  better — a  heart  desolate  of  earthly 
sympathy,  with  the  love  of  our  Father  in  heaven,  than  beauty 
and  grace  and  human  love,  the  fullest,  dearest,  combined  with 
every  worldly  blessing — if  these  be  sufficient  for  our  need,  and 
we  pass  through  life  without  one  thought  of  God. 


END      OF      THE      FIRST      PERIOD. 


SECOND     PERIOD 


CHAPTER  I. 

EGYPTIAN      CAPTIVITY      AND      JOCHEBED. 

We  are  now  to  commence  the  second  period  of  our  history— 
an  interval,  differing  materially  from  that  which  went  before, 
and  from  that  which  will  succeed  it,  yet  of  vital  importance  to 
the  women  of  Israel.  Their  station  is  no  longer  to  depend  upon 
the  changes  of  time  and  states.  The  protection,  tenderness, 
reverence,  and  support,  which  in  their  varied  relations  of  life 
they  so  imperatively  need,  no  longer  rest  on  the  will  of  man 
alone:  the  God  of  Abraham  proclaims  Himself  their  Guardian 
and  their  Father,  and,  by  innumerable  statutes  in  His  Holy 
Law,  provides  for  their  temporal  and  eternal  welfare  equally 
with  that  of  man. 

The  mother,  the  wife,  the  daughter,  the  maid-servant,  the 
■widow,  and  the  fatherless — for  each  and  all,  His  love  and  mercy 
so  provided,  that  every  social  and  domestic  duty  became  obedi- 
ence unto  Him,  and  woman  was  thus  raised  to  that  rank  in  the 
scale  of  intellectual  and  imraoilal  beings,  by  the  ordinance  of 
God,  from  which  her  weakness  of  frame  and  gentle  delicacy  of 
mind  would,  had  she  depended. on  man's  judgment  alone,  have 
entirely  deprived  her. 

For  the  va  omen  of  Israel  were  those  laws  issued  which  were  to 
guard  the  innocence,  purity,  honor,  and  well-doing  of  woman  in 
general  throughout  the  world ;  for,  however  other  revelations 
may  profess  to  be  the  first  and  purest,  however  the  smile  of 
scorn  and  unbelief  may  attend  the  mention  of  the  Jewish  dis- 
pensation in  conjunction  with  woman,  the  truth  remains  the 
same,  that  as  from  that  law  every  other  sprang,  so  from  that 
law  does  woman  in  every  age,  clime,  rank,  and  race,  receive  her 
guardianship  on  earth,  and  hope  of  heaven. 


PERIOD      II. JOCHEBED.  135 

That  this  assertion  will  meet  with  scorn  and  denial  on  all 
sides,  we  believe — perchance  even  from  those  whom  nationality 
and  duty  both,  should  arouse  to  its  defence.  Yet  firmly  and 
unhesitatingly  we  retain  the  position  we  have  advanced,  prepared 
to  defend  it  from  the  same  blessed  Book  on  which  it  is  founded 
— the  Word  of  God.  Much  has  been  said  of  the  wide  distinc- 
tion between  ancient  .and  modern  Judaism,  of  Talmudical  per- 
versions of  Holy  Writ,  of  Jewish  degradation  of  woman,  and  a 
melancholy  list  of  similar  accusations.  With  them  we  neither 
have  nor  intend  to  have  anything  to  do,  save  boldly  to  assert, 
that  IF  there  be  this  wide  distinction  between  ancient  and  mo- 
dern Judaism — if  customs  and  laws  derogatory  to  God's 
changeless  truth,  and  contrary  to  Plis  holy  Word,  have  crept  in 
amongst  us, — the  dark  and  bloody  eras  of  persecution  are  at 
fault,  not  the  ancient  fathers,  who  knew  how  to  die  for  their 
faith,  but  not  to  sully  or  degrade  it.  And  it  behoves  us,  in  this 
blessed  age  of  peace  and  this  land  of  freedom,  to  prove  the  fal- 
sity of  the  charge,  to  awake  and  manifest  to  all  men,  that  tb<» 
religion  of  the  Jew  is  the  religion  of  Moses,  as  given  by  tb'j 
Lord  ;  and  that  if  laws  have  crept  in  contrary  to  the  spirit  anr* 
the  ordinances  of  his  word,  they  are  not  Judaism,  but  the  rero 
nants  of  an  age  of  barbarism  and  darkness,  when  that  pure  anft 
holy  word  was  almost  death  to  read.  Oh  !  why  has  not  Isra©- 
joined  heart  and  hand  in  this  holy  cause  ?  Why  has  he  wqK 
borne,  in  charity  and  patience,  with  those  who  differ  from  hioi 
in  minor  points,  and  thought  only  how,  by  union,  harmony,  an<\ 
love,  he  could  ex;dt  his  nation  and  his  faith  in  the  sight  of  th*^ 
Gentile  world,  and  prove  that,  however  close  and  binding  mati 
be  the  casket,  the  jewel  it  enshrines  is  still  the  revelation  of  thr 
Lord,  the  religion  of  the  Bible  ? 

But  our  present  task  has  not  to  do  with  the  nation  and  Juda 
ism  at  large ;  it  is  simply  to  prove  to  the  women  of  Israel  thei* 
position  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  their  duties  towards  man 
The  intricacies  of  the  law,  as  commented  upon  and  explained  by 
our  ancient  fathers,  are  not  for  us.  Woman  needs  only  com 
fort,  strength,  and  guidance,  so  simply  yet  so  clearly  given,  tha^ 
a  little  child  may  read  and  understand  them ;  and  these  art' 
ours,  alike  in  the  records  of  our  female  ancestors  and  in  the  pre 
cepts  of  the  Lord. 

Hitherto  we  have  been  regarding  His  love,  mercy,  and  jua 
tice,  as  manifested  to   individuals  ;  deriving  lessons  from  exam 

n* 


1 36  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

pie,  and  guidance  from  the  Eternal's  dealings  with  His  crea- 
tures. Recorded  in  His  book,  we  know  that  their  lives  are  no\f 
intended  for  our  instruction  and  benefit,  or  they  would  not  have 
been  written.  But  God  knew  that  something  yet  more  was 
needed,  for  the  religious  training  and  well  doing  of  His  elected 
people  ;  something  more  than  the  mere  history  of  the  past, 
bright  as  that  was  with  the  wonderful  manifestations  of  His 
presence  in  direct  communings  with  His  saints  ; — and  for  the 
love  He  bore  His  faithful  servant  Abraham,  it  pleased  Him  to 
bring  from  the  deepest  darkness  the  purest  light,  and  vouchsafed 
a  law  which  was  to  last  for  ever,  and  through  which  not  alone 
His  chosen  but  every  nation  should  be  blessed. 

From  the  death  of  Joseph  to  a  short  tinie  preceding  the  birth 
of  Moses,  Holy  Writ  is  silent  as  to  the  history  of  the  Israelites, 
both  individually  and  nationally,  except  the  important  truth  that 
"  they  were  fruitful  and  increased  abundantly,  and  multiplied 
and  waxed  exceeding  mighty,  and  the  land  was  filled  with 
them."  Though  no  law  had  been  given,  they  were  still,  it  is 
evident,  a  completely  distinct  people,  retaining  a  pure  religion  in 
the  midst  of  barbarous  idolatry.  With  no  ordained  worship — 
no  revealed  ordinances — no  appointed  sacrifice,  or  priest ;  still 
they  were  the  elect  and  beloved  of  the  Lord,  requiring  no  medi- 
ator, either  angelic  or  human,  to  bring  up  their  prayers  before 
God,  and  render  them  acceptable.  Yet  God  not  only  "  heard 
their  cry,  but  had  respect  unto  them."  This  is  a  point  in  our 
history  too  important  to  be  overlooked,  though  it  concerns  Israel 
generally,  not  the  women  of  Israel  alone.  It  is  very  often 
brought  forward  as  a  proof,  that  we  must  now  be  wholly  re- 
jected by  the  Lord,  because  the  daily  sacrifice  has  ceased,  and 
many  parts  of  the  law,  obligatory  upon  us  in  our  own  land,  are 
scarcely  possible  to  be  observed  in  our  captivity — the  cessation 
of  sacrifices  and  atonement  offerings  especially  are  perpetually 
insisted  upon,  as  proving  that  unless  we  acknowledge  the  aton- 
ing sacrifice  of  Jesus,  and  regard  him  as  our  High  Priest,  we 
are  lost  temporally  and  eternally. 

The  simple  fact  that  the  Israelites  in  Egypt  had  neither  sacri- 
fice nor  high  priest,  though  the  former  was  already  ordained, 
yet  were  still  a  distinct  people,  still  the  first-born  of  the  Lord, 
and  had  power  to  lift  up  their  cry  to  Ilim,  and  be  heard,  com- 
passionated, and  answered,  is  a  sufBciently  convincing  answer. 
Israel  is  now^  and  has  been  for  eighteen  hundred  years,  as  ho 


PERIOD        11.  JOCHEBED.  137 

was  in  E^ypt,  with  the  sole  difference  that  there  we  were  not 
the  captives  of  the  Lord  as  we  are  now ;  nor  had  we  then  a  hiw 
to  guide  us,  and  by  obedience  prove  repentance.  We  are  now 
fulfilling  the  prophecy,  that  "Israel  shall  abide  many  days  with- 
out priest  or  sacrifice,"  etc.  (Hosea  iii.  4)  :  but  the  same  blessed 
word  which  foretells  this,  says  not  one  word  of  our  being  utterly 
cast  off,  but  repeatedly  enforces  the  divine  consolation,  that  we 
have  but  to  cry  unto  the  Lord,  even  from  the  lands  of  our  cap- 
tivity, to  be  heard  and  compassionated  as  we  were  in  Egypt. 
We  have  no  need  of  sacrifice,  when  God  Himself  o/dained  that 
it  should  cease;  nor  can  we  have  the  head  of  the  nation,  alike 
of  its  religious,  civil,  and  even  military  divisions,  while  scattered 
in  every  quarter  of  the  globe.  Were  we  to  accept  Jesus,  in  his 
blended  character  of  sacrifice,  atoner,  and  high  priest,  the  pro- 
phecies would  all  remain  wjiful filled  ;  as  we  should  still  possess 
all  these,  instead  of  being,  as  the  prophet  so  expressly  declared, 
deprived  during  our  captivity  of  "  king,  prince,  sacrifice,  image, 
ephod,  and  terephim,"  Hosea  iii.  4. 

To  Israel  in  Egypt  they  were  not  given  ;  to  Israel  in  her 
lengthened  captivity  they  have  ceased,  until  she  be  purified  and 
chastened  sufficiently  to  receive  once  again  the  visible  manifes- 
tation of  the  Lord's  acceptance,  their  constant  attendant,  and 
which  was  forfeited  by  our  rebellion.  Yet  still,  even  as  in 
Egypt,  we  are  the  first-born  of  the  Lord,  and  have  nationally  and 
individually,  equal  access  to  His  compassionating  love. 

A  new  king  had  arisen  in  Egypt;  one  who  knew  not  Joseph, 
and  saw  only  in  the  Israelites,  a  people  harmless  indeed  ia 
employments  and  pursuits,  but  sufficiently  mighty  in  numbers 
to  arouse  the  jealous  fears  of  tyranny :  and  the  commandment 
went  forth  to  afflict  them,  by  weighty  tasks  and  heavy  burdens. 
But  the  more  they  afflicted  them,  the  more  they  multiplied  and 
grew  ;  and,  in  consequence,  heavier  and  heavier  grew  their 
afflictions,  till  at  length  the  fatal  command  was  given  to  destroy 
every  male  child  at  its  birth.  Yet  even  this  was  overruled  by 
a  merciful  God.  The  hearts  of  the  women  designed  for  this 
barbarous  office  were  in  His  hand,  and  he  so  softened  them 
into  tenderness  and  compassion  that  the  innocent  babes  were 
saved  by  the  very  mean>  adopted  for  their  destruction.  Finding 
this  scheme  unavailing,  Pharaoh  issued  another  command  more 
fiital  than  the  first,  for  it  seemed  not  in  the  power  of  man  to 
evade  or  counteract  it.     And  in  the  power  of  man  it  was  not ; 


138  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

God  alone  could  bring  forth  delivery ;  and  therefore  did  He 
permit  the  deepest  darkness  to  close  around  his  people,  that 
both  they  and  tlae  Egyptians  might  know  the  power  to  redeem, 
and  the  love  to  accomplish  it,  were  in  Him  alone. 

The  situation  of  the  women  of  Israel,  at  this  period,  must 
have  been  terrible  indeed.  Their  infants,  born  in  the  midst  of 
sorrow,  yet  hailed,  perhaps,  as  the  sole  blessing  which  they 
could  call  their  own,  snatched  from  them  by  ruthless  murderers, 
and  flung  into  the  Nile.  And  where  were  they  to  look  for 
redress — for  pity  ?  Where  but  to  their  God — and  "  He  heard 
their  groaning  ;"  and  from  this  very  desolation  raised  up  His 
own. 

The  family  of  Amram,  a  son  of  Levi,  already  consisted  of 
himself,  his  wife,  a  little  son  of  three  years  old,  and  an  elder 
daughter.  The  birth  of  Aaron  must  have  teen  attended  with 
heavy  sorrow  from  the  tyrannical  oppression  under  which  his 
father  and  the  other  Israelites  labored  ;  but  dark  as  was  that 
hour,  it  must  have  been  almost  joyous  compared  with  the  awful 
trial  awaiting  his  mother  now.  About  to  add  another  little  one 
to  their  family,  how  agonizingly  must  the  shriek  of  torture, 
wrung  from  her  sisters  in  Israel — marking  every  fresh  assault 
of  the  Egyptians  within  their  houses,  in  search  of  their  babes — 
have  sounded  in  her  ears  ?  Day  after  day,  night  after  night, 
one  or  other  dwelhng  of  the  miserable  Hebrews  was  searched  ; 
and  ransacked,  if  no  child  were  found.  Voices  of  cursing 
and  mockery  mingled  with  the  wild  entreaties  for  mercy — the 
scream  of  agony — the  wailing  moan  of  impotent  suffering — the 
feeble  wail  of  helpless  infancy — the  sullen  splash,  that  told  the 
work  of  butchery  done ; — such  must  have  been  the  sight  and 
sounds  around  the  home  of  Jochebed,  as  she  awaited  in  trem- 
bling horror  that  day  which  must  expose  her  to  the  same.  It 
came  at  length,  and  a  fair  lovely  babe  was  born — a  boy — whose 
first  wailing  cry,  if  it  reached  the  ears  of  the  Egyptian  butchers, 
would  be  his  death-knell.  But  the  prayers  of  the  mother  had 
not  been  in  vain.  Her  God  was  with  her,  endowing  her  with 
wisdom  and  energy  sufficiently  effectual  to  conceal  her  boy  three 
months.  But  then,  danger  once  more  approached.  Suspicions 
had  either  been  excited,  or  the  increasing  age  and  size  of  the 
child  rendered  the  task  of  concealment  no  longer  possible. 
Fearful  must  have  been  the  struggle  of  natural  terrors  and ' 
spiritual  confidence,  filling  the  mother's  mind,  ere  the  plan  she 


PERIOD       II.  JOCHEBED.  130 

eventually  followed  was  matured  and  executed.  Faith  aione  in 
a  God  of  infinite  compassion  could  have  inspired  a  mode  of 
proceeding  a]")parently  so  fraught  with  danger,  as  heiself  to 
expose  her  babe  to  the  deep  and  dangerous  current  of  the  river; 
but  even  while  faith  impelled,  and  at  times  soothed,  by  the  firm 
conviction  that  her  God  would  save,  natural  affections  and 
human  fears  must  often  have  had  the  ascendant,  breathing  but 
of  danger  and  of  death.  The  future  was  veiled  in  impenetrable 
darkness.  The  fate  of  her  child,  even  if  his  slender  ark  bore  him 
in  safety  on  the  waters,  must  be  one  of  suffering,  or  perhaps  of 
starvation — for  who  would  give  him  food  ?  Did  she  do  right 
to  expose  him  thus  ?  If  he  were  to  be  saved,  would  not  the 
Eternal  equally  accomplish  it  without  this  fearful  venture  ? 
Such  would  be  mere  human  reasoning  in  woman's  feeble  heart. 
But  prayer  gave  her  the  needful  grace  and  strength  to  listen 
only  to  the  immortal  spirit,  and  trust  undoubtingly  in  God. 
Can  we  not  picture  the  anxious  throbbings  of  maternal  affection 
as  her  own  hand  weaved  the  ark  or  basket  of  bulrushes,  in 
which  her  babe  was  to  be  exposed  ?  Would  not  merely  earthly 
natures  have  smiled  in  scorn  on  this  feeble  invention,  and 
pronounced  it  futile  ?  But  the  mother  of  Moses  had  not  such 
to  increase  the  difficulty  of  her  task.  Her  husband's  name  is 
never  mentioned  in  this  proceeding ;  for  Amram,  as  the 
remainder  of  his  miserable  brethren,  was  in  all  probability  too 
much  weighed  down  and  spirit-broken  by  their  multiplied 
afflictions,  to  think  of  the  inmates  of  his  home,  save  with 
increased  affliction  and  despondency  ;  nay,  had  perchance  closed 
his  heart  against  all  love  for  his  new-born,  believing  it  was  des- 
tined, as  every  other,  for  immediate  death.  He  could  have  had 
no  time  to  watch  over  it,  and  share  his  wife's  anxieties.  To  his 
mother  alone,  therefore,  under  the  especial  providence  of  God, 
did  Moses  owe  his  preservation. 

The  ark  was  completed.  Gifted  with  unusual  foresight  and 
wisdom  for  the  task,  Jochebed  carefully  daubed  it  with  slime 
and  pitch,  that  no  water  should  penetrate  within  ;  and  with 
trembling  yet  still  trusting  spirit,  placed  her  babe  therein,  and 
laid  it  on  the  flags  by  the  river's  brink.  To  w-atch  what  would 
be  done  with  it — whether  it  would  rest  there  till  some  compas- 
sionating passer-by  should  behold  and  save  him,  or  be  indeed 
launched  on  the  waters  and  carried  from  her  sight — was  indeed 


140  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

a  task  too  fearful  for  maternal  love.  We  may  picture,  with 
perfect  truth  and  justice,  her  last  lingering  kiss  pressed  upon  the 
lips,  cheek,  and  brow  of  the  unconscious  babe  ;  her  waiting  till 
sleep  closed  those  beauteous  eyes,  which,  in  their  pleading  gaze, 
seemed  to  her  fond  heart  beseeching  her  not  so  cruelly  to  aban 
don  him — waiting  till  slumber,  light,  pure,  beautiful,  as  only 
infancy  can  know,  lay  upon  those  sweet  features,  those  rounded 
limbs — making  them  seem  like  some  folded  flower,  waiting  but 
.he  return  of  day  to  brighten  into  renewed  and  still  lovelier 
existence.  Would  that  day  ever  dawn  for  that  sweet  uncon- 
scious slumberer  on  earth  ?  Alas !  how  may  she  answer  ? 
Her  look  deepens  in  its  silent  anguish — its  immeasurable  love. 
Faith  seems  departing  in  that  intensity  of  human  feeling ;  she 
will  look  no  more,  lest  indeed  it  feil.  The  light  lid  closes  softly 
over  the  sleeping  babe.  She  lays  it  amidst  the  flowering  flags 
— looks  once,  once  more.  Does  the  infant  moan  or  weep? 
How  may  she  leave  it,  if  it  does  ?  No  :  all  is  silent,  voiceless — 
the  boy  still  sleeps — and  she  hurries  from  the  spot — bids  Miriam 
stand  "  afar  off,"  yet  near  enough  "  to  know  what  would  be  done 
with  him."  And  for  herself? — where,  where  shall  she  find  rest, 
from  the  anxiety  and  suft'ering  of  that  fearful  hour  ?  Where,  but 
at  the  footstool  of  her  God,  in  whose  gracious  hand  she  has  placed 
her  babe  ?  What  could  calm  that  heart  but  prayer  ?  And  how 
can  we  doubt  one  moment  that  to  the  mother  of  Moses  prayer 
was  her  whole  sujiport,  strength,  and  life  ? 

Holy  writ  is  silent  as  to  the  length  of  time  which  elapsed  ere 
Pharaoh's  daughter  "  came  down  to  wash  at  the  river ;  and  her 
maidens  walked  along  by  the  river's  side,  and  when  she  saw  the 
ark  among  the  flags,  she  sent  her  maid  to  fetch  it.  And  when 
she  had  opened  it,  she  saw  the  child  :  and,  behold,  the  babe 
wept.  And  she  had  compassion  on  him,  and  said.  This  is 
one  of  the  Hebrews'  children."  How  exquisitely  true  and  touch- 
ing is  this  picture  of  human  nature  !  The  simple  words,  "and, 
behold,  the  babe  wept,"  even  in  reading,  seem  to  fill  woman's 
heart  with  a  gush  of  tears.  The  utter  helplessness,  the  innocence, 
the  beauty  of  the  poor  babe,  seem  to  cling  to  our  aff"ections,  as 
if  he  were  entwined  with  them  by  stronger  ties  than  mere  narra- 
tion. And  is  he  not  ?  What  woman  of  Israel  can  read  this 
touching  narrative  unmoved  ?  "  The  babe  wept ;"  and,  true  to 
nature,  Pharaoh's  daughter  had  compassion  on  him.     Cold,  ter- 


PERIOD       II. JOCHEBED.  141 

I'ified,  hunory,  the  poor  infant  might  have  been  weeping  long  in 
Lis  bulrush  prison  ;  but  those  tears,  sad  as  they  were  to  him, 
obtained  his  human  preservation. 

The  compassion  of  the  princess  emboldened  Miriam  to  go  for- 
ward, and  respectfully  to  ask,  "  Shall  I  go  and  call  to  thee  a 
nurse  of  the  Hebrew  women,  that  she  may  nurse  the  child  for 
thee  ?"  An  address  which  would  almost  make  us  believe  that 
the  compassionate  and  gentle  character  of  the  tyrant's  daughter 
must  have  been  known  to  the  Hebrews,  or  the  young  Miriam 
would  scarcely  have  had  sufficient  courage  so  to  have  spoken. 
This,  however,  must  be  suggestion  ;  the  inspired  nariAtive  only 
enforces  upon  us  the  hand  of  God  throughout.  The  same  God 
who  inspired  llebekah  unconsciously  to  speak  those  words  which 
answered  the  steward's  prayer,  and  elected  her  for  Isaac's  wife, 
also  inspired  the  youthful  daughter  of  Amram  to  come  forward 
and  speak  such  words  to  the  princess  of  Egypt,  as,  at  another 
time,  she  would  have  trembled  to  utter  even  in  thought. 

"  And  Pharaoh's  daughter  said  to  her.  Go.  And  the  maid 
went  and  called  the  child's  mother.  And  Pharaoh's  daughter 
said  unto  her.  Take  this  child  away,  and  nurse  it  for  me,  and  I 
will  give  thee  thy  wages.  And  the  woman  took  the  child  and 
nursed  it." 

What  must  have  been  the  emotions  of  Jochebed,  thus  to  clasp 
again  to  her  heart  her  rescued  treasure  !  Not  alone  saved  from 
present  death,  but  future  suffering  and  hsbor — r.  stored  to  her 
maternal  bosom,  to  receive  thence  not  only  his  necessary  infant 
nourishment,  but  such  lessons  of  his  father's  God  and  his  breth- 
ren's faith  as  would  render  him  invulnerable  to  the  temptations 
and  idolatry  of  the  Egyptian  court.  Her  emotions  in  paiting 
from  her  child  we  might  try  to  picture  ;  but  on  those  which 
must  have  attended  his  rescue,  his  restoration,  silence  is  most 
eloquent.  How  had  not  her  simple  trusting  faith  been  reward- 
ed !  How  clearly,  how  startlingly  had  the  hand  of  the  Eternal 
been  dis])layed  !  •  And  how  could  she  prove  the  grateful  devoted- 
ness  of  her  overflowing  heart,  save  by  devoting  the  child  His 
love  had  saved  unto  His  service  ?  Not  even  povertj^  and  priva- 
tion had  she  to  encounter.  While  her  brethren  were  enduring 
the  hea\nest  burdens  from  cruel  taskmasters,  she  was  recei\ing 
wages  from  the  princess  of  Egypt  for  the  nurture  of  her  own 
child  ;  and  well  may  we  believe  those  wages  were  devoted  to  the 


142  THE      WOMEN       OF     -ISRAEL. 

needy  and  the  suffering — from  her  who  in  the  midst  of  natuial 
sorrow  must  have  felt  herself  individually  so  blessed. 

"  And  the  child  grew,  and  she  brought  him  unto  Pharaoh's 
daughter,  and  he  became  her  son."  But  it  was  in  those  years 
he  had  passed  with  his  own  mother  his  character  had  been 
formed  ;  his  principles  were  fixed  ;  his  religion  obtained  living 
and  breathing,  and  ever-actuating  influence.  We  know  not  the 
age  at  which  he  left  his  mother,  but  we  must  infer,  from  all  that 
is  narrated  of  him,  that  her  influence,  not  that  of  his  adopted 
parent,  made  him  what  he  was.  No  lessons  of  Pharaoh's  daugh- 
ter could  have  endowed  him  with  that  feeling  of  patriotism 
which  bade  him  rise  up  against  the  Egyptian  who  was  smiting 
an  Israelite,  or  interfere  between  the  two  Israelites,  endeavoring 
meekly  to  restore  peace.  Had  his  early  instruction  been  con- 
fined to  Pharaoh's  palace,  his  very  birth  and  race  would  have 
been  unknown  ;  he  would  have  imbibed  only  such  princijiles  as 
actuated  the  Egyptians,  and  could  not  fail  to  have  bowed  down 
to  their  idols.  Some  very  powerful  influence  must  have  been  at 
work  counteracting  these  evils  ;  and  what  influence  is  so  great 
over  the  susceptible  age  of  infancy  as  that  of  mother  or  nurse  ? 
and  Jochebed  combined  both  these  endearing  relations.  Even 
after  the  actual  task  of  nursing  was  accomplished,  "  and  the 
child  grew,  and  she  brought  liim  unto  Pharaoh's  daughter,"  it 
appears  to  me  more  than  probable  that  she  was  still  retained 
near  the  person  of  her  child,  tending  him  even  after  he  was  call- 
ed the  pi'incess's  son  ;  and  thus  had  frequent  opportunities  of 
inculcating  those  divine  truths  which,  though  no  law  was  yet 
given,  the  past  history  of  his  people  so  vividly  revealed. 

That  Moses  makes  no  further  mention  of  his  parents  is  no 
proof  of  such  idea  being  but  fancy.  Of  everything  concerning 
himself  he  writes  so  slightly,  so  evidently  imagining  his  personal 
history  of  no  possible  consequence,  compared  with  the  mighty 
and  solemn  matters  intrusted  to  him,  that  it  was  not  likely  the 
days  of  his  childhood  should  be  recalled  and  dwelt  upon.  Nay, 
he  himself  might  have  been  perfectly  unconscious  to  what  influ- 
ence he  actually  owed  his  peculiar  feelings  as  an  Israelite,  his 
gentle  lovely  virtues  as  a  man.  The  work  of  a  mother  is  silent 
and  unseen  as  dew  upon  the  earth  : — the  seed  must  be  jiLinted, 
watched,  watered,  but  unless  spared  to  behold  it  springing  into 
flower,  the  hand  of  the  planter  may  for  ever  rest  unknown. 


PERIOD       ir. JOCHKBED.  143 

Jochebed  was  parted  from  her  son,  years  before  this  blessed 
reward  could  have  been  given  ;  his  childhood  alone  was  hers. 
His  youth,  his  manhood,  when  the  seed  she  had  sown  might 
have  repaid  her  with  abundant  harvest,  were  passed,  the  one  in 
all  the  temptations,  the  luxuries  of  an  Egyptian  court ;  the 
other  in  exile — the  lowly  shepherd  of  his  fatlier-in-law,  a  priest 
of  Midian, — apart  even  from  his  countrymen.  It  does  not 
appear  that  his  parents  were  among  those  who  left  Egypt,  or 
their  names  would  have  been  mentioned  with  the  other  relatives 
of  Moses.  Jochebed  had  not  the  privilege  of  beholding  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  greatness  of  her  rescued  boy ;  but  had 
the  seed  of  her  sowing  withered  ?  Were  her  counsels  vain  ] 
Can  we  not  trace  in  the  peculiarly  gentle,  much-forgiving 
character  of  our  lawgiver,  the  moulding  of  a  womati's  hand  ? 
Is  there  aught  to  prove  the  minion  of  a  court,  the  favorite  of  a 
princess  ?  No,  O  no.  The  whole  character  of  Moses  displays 
a  mother's  guidance.  A  mother's  love  watching  over  childhood, 
and  inculcating  those  high  and  glowing  principles  of  virtue  and 
patriotism,  which  the  blessing  of  the  Eternal  ripened  into  such 
a  beautiful  maturity,  as  to  render  Moses  a  iit  instrument  in  His 
hand  to  lead  His  chosen  people  from  the  land  of  bondage,  and 
to  reveal  His  changeless  law. 

And  what  will  not  this  beautiful  narrative  teach  us  ?  As 
Jochebed,  we  too  are  in  a  land  of  bondage  ;  indeed,  in  free  and 
happy  England,  not  a  bondage  of  suffering  and  persecution,  but 
yet  as  exiles  from  our  own  land,  and,  alas  !  too  often,  exiles 
from  our  God.  We  too  are  in  a  land  of  strangers,  whose  faith 
is  not  ours  ;  a  faith  which,  though  it  be  not  idolatry,  is  fraught 
with  yet  more  temptation  and  danger.  In  this  blessed  land,  no 
cruel  taskmaster  afflicts  us  with  heavy  burdens  ;  yet  there  are 
some  to  look  upon  us  with  scorn  and  hate,  who  would  strew 
our  daily  path  with  the  thorns  and  briers  of  contempt,  calumny, 
and  abuse ;  and  others  again  who,  with  kindly  yet  mistaken 
zeal,  would  appal  us  by  the  vivid  recital  of  the  fearful  precipice 
on  which  we  stand,  telling  us  that  but  one  escape  is  left  us,  one 
only  way,  or  we  are  temporally  and  eternally  lost ;  and  that 
way  no  Israelite  can  recognise.  Yet  fearful  are  the  temptations 
to  seek  it,  and  few,  too  few,  his  weapons  of  defence.  Worldly 
rank  and  worldly  honors  are  closed  to  the  believing  Hebrew, 
and  wherever  he  turns  he  feels  himself  a  stranger. 

Blest  in  this  land  with  peace  and  freedom,  yet,  ever  and 


144  THE       "WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

anon,  the  low  growl  of  the  tempest  of  persecution  reaches  him 
from  distant  shores ;  sometimes  sinking  into  silence,  ere  more 
than  the  heart's  quick  throbbing  is  aroused  ;  at  others  waxing 
louder  and  more  loud,  till  the  wailings  of  thousands,  and  the 
shrieks  of  torture,  are  borne  on  the  heavy  air,  breathing  that 
Israel  is  afflicted  still.  And  wherefore  ?  To  bid  us  still  feel 
we  are  the  captives  of  the  Lord — that  Jerusalem  lieth  desolate 
and  waste  fur  our  sins — that  the  awful  prophecy  of  the  twenty- 
eighth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy  has  been,  and  in  many  lands 
still  is,  in  actual  fulfilment — that  we  are  now,  as  we  were  in 
Egypt,  afflicted  and  oppressed — "  despised  and  rejected  of  men 
— a  man  of  sorrows  and  acquainted  with  grief" — "  as  one  that 
gropeth  at  noon-day,  as  the  blind  gropeth  in  darkness,  that 
shall  not  prosper  in  his  ways,  that  shall  only  be  spoiled  and 
oppressed  evermore,  and  whom  no  man  shall  save." 

And  if  it  be  so  (and  who  shall  say  it  is  not  ?),  oh !  does  it  not 
devolve  on  the  mothers  of  Israel  to  do  even  as  Jochebed,  and 
so  influence  the  childhood  of  their  sons,  as  to  render  them 
indeed  faithful  to  their  God,  meek  and  forgiving  towards  man, 
and  invulnerable  to  every  temptation  held  forth  by  the  opposers 
of  their  faith  ? 

The  very  safety  we  enjoy,  the  habits  of  friendly  intimacy 
which  it  is  right  and  happy  we  should  cultivate,  all  call  upon 
the  Hebrew  mother  to  instil  those  principles  in  the  heart  of  her 
son  which  shall  guide  him  through  life,  and,  while  they  raise  him 
in  the  estimation  of  the  nations  around  him,  inspire  him  indi- 
vidually to  glory  in  his  own. 

We  have  enlarged,  in  a  former  work,  on  the  duty  of  mothers 
regarding  religion  generally.  We  would  here  conjure  them  to 
follow  the  example  of  the  mother  of  Moses,  and  make  their  sons 
the  receivers,  and  in  their  turn  the  promulgators,  of  that  holy 
law  which  is  their  glorious  inheritance.  Their  faith,  in  England, 
may  not  be  tried  as  that  of  Jochebed — they  may  not  be  called 
U])on  to  expose  their  innocent  babes  to  the  dangers  of  the  river, 
to  save  them  from  the  cruelties  of  man — but  they  are  called  upon 
to  provide  a  suit  of  defence  for  I'iper  years.  They  must  so 
instruct,  so  guide,  the  first  ten  or  twelve  years  of  boyhood,  that 
even  then  they  may  leave  their  maternal  homes  as  Israelites 
rejoicing  in  their  faith.  They  must  infuse  some  balsam  to  heal, 
or  some  invulnerable  shield  to  eject,  the  arrows  of  contempt  or 
pity  which,  ere  they  pass  through  life,  they  must  encounter. 


PERIOD       II. JOCHEBED.  145 

They  must  so  lead,  that  graver  years  may  conduct  them  to  that 
only  study,  the  blessed  word  of  God,  which  alone  can  give  peace 
to  their  spirits,  rest  to  their  minds,  and  conviction  to  their  hearts 
— alike  in  their  private  hours  and  their  communings  with  the 
Nazarene  world.  This  is  now  the  Hebrew  mother's  task,  which 
may  be  blessed  to  their  oftspritig  as  Jochebed's  was  to  Moses. 
It  is  for  this  they  must  have  faith,  must  trust  that  God  will 
perfect  that  which  is  imperfect,  fill  up  every  deficiency,  and  bring 
the  seed  to  flower,  or  vain  and  hopehiss  will  le  their  task. 
They  must  impress  upon  their  oflfspring  their  spiritual  aris- 
tocracy, and  so  not  only  remove  all  temptation  to  barter  their 
heavenly  heritage  for  earthly  rank,  but  infuse  their  minds  and 
hearts  with  that  nobility  of  thought,  word,  and  action,  which 
should  be  the  heir-loom,  the  glory  of  every  Hebrew,  be  he  of 
what  rank,  profession,  or  even  trade,  he  may.  Persecution  and 
barbarity  in  our  opposers,  and  their  consequent  ignorance  and 
superstition  in  ourselves,  have  for  long  ages  so  crushed  and 
trampled  on  this  innate  nobility,  that  in  all  but  a  very  few 
instances,  it  seenjs,  and  has  long  seemed,  departed  from  us  ;  its 
banishment  stigmatizing  us  as  degraded  to  the  lowest  and  vilest 
of  mankind.  Can  we  now  then,  in  those  blessed  lands  where  the 
Jew  may  walk  in  freedom,  with  "  none  to  molest  or  make  him 
afraid,"  permit  this  stigma  to  remain  ?  Shall  we  not  rather 
wake  every  energy,  string  every  nerve,  to  prove  that  it  is  not 
Judaism,  but  persecution  at  fault ;  and  that  wherever  the  Hebrew 
is  FREE,  he  is  noble  ?  That  the  princely  blood  of  Abraham, 
Moses,  and  David  still  flows  within  his  veins,  and  incites  him  to 
thoughts  and  deeds  as  far  removed  from  ignorance  and  degra- 
dation as  the  sun  is  from  the  earth  ? 

But  not  when  arrived  at  manhood  can  this  nobility  be 
infused.  It  must  be  imbibed  with  the  mother's  milk,  and  form 
the  very  atmosphere  of  childhood  and  youth.  Let  every 
mother  in  Israel  look  upon  her  infant  treasure  as  direct  from  the 
hand  of  God,  and  believe  that  He  saith  to  her,  as  the  princess 
of  Egypt  said  to  Jochebed, — "  Nurse  this  child  for  me,  and  I 
will  give  thee  thy  wages  ;"  for  Him,  for  the  Lord,  who  in  every 
age,  clime,  and  position,  calleth  Israel  His  Children.  And  let 
her  indeed  so  nurse  him,  that  whenever  he  may  be  called  to  his 
Father  in  Heaven  he  may  be  fit  to  go.  Let  her,  weak  and  feeble 
of  herself  as  she  is,  remember  that  with  the  Lord  all  things  aro 
possible,  and  that  as  He  blessed  Jochebed  in  the  preservation 


146  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

and  nurture  of  lier  child,  so  if  we  will  but  blend  effort  with 
prayer,  perseverance  with  faith.  He  will  equally  bless  us — and 
though  it  may  not  be  ours  to  rear  a  deliverer  fi'oni  Egyptian 
bondage,  yet  how  will  the  mothers  in  Israel  rejoice  and  glory, 
to  receive  "  their  wages"  in  the  elevation  of  their  nation  by  their 
sons  ? 

To  do  this,  they  must  be  noble  ;  and  to  become  so,  let  the 
Hebrew  mother  teach  her  boy,  fi-oin  his  earliest  years,  to  think 
of  his  heavenly  heritage,  his  s]iiritual  election,  his  eternal  life, 
and  leave  the  interests  and  ambition  of  earth  till  riper  years, 
when  even  these  dull  sordid  cares  shall  become  ennobled  and 
spiritualized,  by  the  purer  atmosphere  which  he  has  in  his  boy- 
hood breathed.  We  are  not,  indeed,  while  denizens  of  earth,  to 
think  so  exclusively  of  heaven  as  to  unfit  us  for  the  life  of  trial 
and  temptation  which,  in  our  mortal  career,  we  are  commanded 
to  tread  ;  but  we  are  to  infuse  earth  with  Heaven,  time  with 
Eternity,  the  soul  with  God.  As  Israelites,  we  cannot  sever 
our  temporal  from  our  eternal  interests,  we  cannot  fling  off  the 
memory  of,  and  obedience  to,  the  Eternal,  for  with  every  single 
relation,  duty,  ordinance,  and  habit  of  daily  life  His  commands 
are  blended.  We  are  not  Israelites,  if  we  think  to  live  apart 
from  Him,  or  to  do  aught  in  which  we  cannot  associate  Him  by 
the  entreaty  for  His  blessing,  and  the  looking  to  Him  throughout. 
We  are  not  Israelites,  if  we  do  not  feel  our  every  domestic  duty  and 
loving  tie  sanctified  by  Him,  and  bringing  us  nearer,  closer,  more 
lovingly  to  Him,  with  every  passing  month.  This  is  to  be  an 
Israelite — this  is  to  be  the  aristocracy  of  the  Lord  ;  for  did  we 
so  associate  our  religion  with  our  lives,  we  must  be  noble. 
But  how  can  we  attain  this,  how  dare  we  hope  it,  if  the  pursuit 
of  gold,  the  vain  longing  for  wealth,  the  idle  dream  of  worldly 
aggrandizement,  tbe  empty  rivalship  with  those  richer  and 
higher  than  ourselves,  be  the  sole  end,  aim,  and  being  of  the 
Israelite  ?  We  look  with  loud  condemnation  and  scorn  on  the 
worshippers  of  the  golden  calf — we  contemn  the  worshippers, 
more  than  we  tremble  at  the  awful  chastisement  from  the  hand 
of  the  Lord — yet  let  us  beware,  lest  our  sons  too  bow  before 
the  golden  idol.  It  may  take  no  form,  we  may  not  approach  it 
with  forms  of  worship,  and  priests,  and  incense,  but  if  it  fill  up 
our  hearts  to  the  exclusion  of  all  other  and  nobler  thoughts,  if 
its  pursuit  drag  us  from  the  house  of  God,  from  our  own  hearths, 
deaden  us  to  the  love  of  home  ties,  prevent  the  spiritual  and 


PERIOD      II. JOCHEBKD.  l4» 

ciilarged  education  of  our  children,  what  is  it  to  us  but  as  the 
golden  calf  to  the  Israelites  of  old  ?  And  how  dar^.  we  hope  to 
be  exempt  from  the  chastisement  of  God,  when  it  tell  upon  our 
brethren  ?  Oh  !  let  us  not  case  up  our  hearts,  and  pursue  our 
way  in  confident  security,  because  it  is  deferred.  God  works 
not  now  as  He  did  then.  Israel,  in  his  redemption  from  Egypt, 
needed  constant,  visible,  and  i^alpable  evidences  of  the  provi- 
dence and  the  ji;<st.ice  of  the  Lord.  We  have  them  not  to  guide 
us  now,  but  their  record  is  ours,  in  which  to  learn  our  duty,  and 
the  effects  of  its  neglect  or  disobedience.  That  which  was  dis- 
pleasing to  Him  then^  is  displeasing  to  Him  now  ;  but,  scattered 
as  we  are  among  the  nations,  deprived  through  our  iniquities  of 
the  visible  manifestation  of  His  presence.  His  approval,  and  His 
wrath,  not  on  earth  may  our  judgment  be  known ;  nor  can  we 
"discern  between  him  that  serveth  God,  and  him  that  serveth 
Him  not,"  till  that  day  when  "the  Lord  shall  make  up  His 
jewels,  and  spare  those  that  love  Him,  as  a  man  spareth  his 
own  son  that  serveth  him." 

That  the  long  dark  ages  of  persecution  originated  that  fearful 
indifference  to  all  ennobling  pursuits,  of  which  the  Hebrew  is 
accused,  we  quite  acknowledge.  Deprived  of  all  honorable  and 
elevating  employment,  of  every  profession,  of  every  trade,  which, 
bringing  them  into  friendly  contact  with  their  fellow-men,  would 
have  enlarged  their  minds,  and  awakened  social  affections ; 
cowed,  crushed,  hunted  down,  and  often  persecuted  for  the  sake 
of  their  wealth ;  deadened,  stupefied,  to  all  spiritual  elevation, 
even  as  the  Israelites  in  Egypt ;  was  it  marvel  they  should  cling 
to  gold,  and  seek  its  increase,  as  their  sole  rank  and  privilege  ? 
For  them  God  had  compassion,  for  He  knew  how  they  were 
tried.  It  was  natural  too,  that,  even  when  in  lands  of  compa- 
rative freedom  and  peace,  the  habits  and  associations  of  past 
years  should  cling  pertinaciously  to  them  still.  But  their 
encouragement  is  no  longer  guiltless — prosperity,  peace,  friendly 
intercourse  with  some  of  the  nations,  are  granted  us,  that  we 
may  come  back  with  heart  and  soul  unto  our  holy  law,  and 
strive  with  all  our  might  against  every  idol  which  comes  between 
us  and  our  God.  In  England,  France,  Belgium,  and  America,  it 
is  no  longer  persecution  and  intolerance  that  degrade  and  pro- 
nounce us  vile.  If  such  feelings  do  find  entrance,  it  is  the 
prejudice  arising  from  what  we  were.  They,  as  is  natural,  see 
not  the  cause  of  that  past  degradation,  but  let  us  make  it  mani- 


148  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

fest — ^let  us  evince,  more  and  more,  that  gold  is  no  longer  our 
sole  pursuit ;  that  fraud  and  cunning,  which  to  the  ignorant 
Gentile  are  synonymous  with  the  word  Jew,  are  as  far  from  us 
as  from  them — that  when  free  we  too  are  noble,  honorable,  and 
spiritual  to  an  extent  that,  if  we  adhere  to  our  blessed  law,  only 
Israelites  can  be — and  prejudice  7nust  pass  away,  and  Israel  be 
acknowledged  the  witnesses  of  the  Lord. 

It  is  this  noble,  this  si)iritual  feeling  of  independence  we 
would  beseech  every  Hebrew  mother  to  instil  into  her  boy ; 
and  which  we  now  humbly,  yet  earnestly,  prayerfully,  and 
heartfuUy  conjure  every  Hebrew  father  to  aid  and  confirm.  Let 
not  the  ears  of  the  infant  Israelite  be  polluted  by  reference  to 
earthly  gain  and  worldly  rivalship,  but  let  him  hear  often  from 
his  father's  lips  those  sweet  lessons  of  heaven  and  God — of  self- 
denial  and  its  blessed  reward — of  those  purer  pleasures  of 
intellect  and  heart,  which,  if  not  infused  into  his  nfancy,  ^an 
never  find  entrance  and  dominion  in  after  years.  Ably  and 
delightfully  would  such  paternal  lessons  assist  the  mother's 
task,  and  lighten  the  blessed  yet  exquisitely  anxious  labor  of 
teaching  their  offspring  their  proper  station  in  the  sight  of  God 
and  man,  and  so  ennoble,  jturify,  and  spiritualize  heart  and 
mind,  as  to  render  them  fit  descendants  of  the  princes,  priests, 
and  prophets  from  whom  they  spring. 

And  let  not  such  parents  fear  for  their  sons'  earthly  welfare. 
Such  training  will  not  unfit  them  for  the  necessary  cares  and 
toils  of  life.  It  will  but  render  them  less  engrossing,  less 
worldly,  and  annihilate  every  feeling  which  they  would  blush  to 
acknowledge  before  God  and  man.  It  will  take  from  life  its 
dross,  its  stagnating  care,  teaching  them  that  their  duty  indeed 
is  to  work  and  persevere,  alike  for  their  families  and  themselves, 
but  that  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  their  portion,  and  that  He 
will  order  their  daily  lot  as  will  be  most  fitted  for  their  eternal 
welfare.  It  will  remove  every  temptation  to  turn  aside,  for 
lucre  or  ambition,  from  their  father's  faith.  It  will  open  heart 
and  hand  towards  the  suffering  and  the  poor,  and,  removing 
every  selfish  feeling  and  grovelling  thought,  prepare  them  for 
that  day  when  the  Lord  again  shall  call  them  His,  and  bid 
them  resume  that  kingly  station  in  the  sight  of  the  nations,  of 
which  for  "  a  little  moment"  only  they  are  deprived. 

The  suffering  Israelites,  under  the  terrible  oppression  of 
Pharaoh,  imagined  not  the  rank  to  which  they  would  be  called 


PERIOD       II. JOCHEBED.  149 

by  the  word  of  the  Lord.  While  groaning  under  their  heavy 
burdens,  toiling  day  and  night,  with  neither  relief  nor  relaxa- 
tion, could  they  have  imagined  that,  in  their  persecuted 
offspring,  princes  should  arise  ; — that,  in  a  brief  interval.  Chiefs 
of  their  tribes.  Heads  of  families.  Captains  of  well-appointed 
squadrons — Priests,  sacred  in  the  sight  of  all  the  people,  and 
acknowledged  by  the  Eternal — Workers  in  every  elegant  art, 
which  was  needed  in  the  building  and  embellishment  of  the 
Tabernacle — Warriors,  dauiitless  in  bravery,  and  skilful  in  the 
art  of  war — Judges,  gifted  to  decide  causes,  award  sentences 
and  keep  civil  peace  and  order  amid  a  disorderly  multitude — 
Princes,  of  such  wealth  and  consequence  as  to  make  the  splendid 
offerings  enumerated  in  the  seventh  chapter  of  Numbers — could 
they  have  imagined  that  such  would  be  ?  Yet  such  was,  and 
such  WILL  BE.  We  know  not  when,  we  know  not  how — we 
only  know  that  the  word  of  God  has  said  it,  and  that  He  is  a 
God  of  truth.  Shall  we  not  remember  this  in  the  education  of 
our  sons,  and  infuse  such  feelings  as  will  render  them  indeed 
but  sojourners  in  the  land  of  the  captivity,  watchers,  as  it  were, 
on  the  frontiers,  prepared  to  arise,  and  fall  into  their  appointed 
stations,  the  moment  the  Lord  shall  call  ?  Let  us  welcome  in 
them  the  inclination  for  the  liberal  professions,  all  that  will 
enlarge  the  mind  and  ennoble  the  heart,  and  bid  them  prove,  in 
the  sight  of  the  whole  Gentile  world,  that  where  the  Hebrew  is 
FREE,  he  his  brave,  enterprising,  selt-denying,  gifted,  wise, 
magnanimous,  as  the  noblest  of  the  nations  around  him.  Let 
the  Hebrew  mother  give  her  boy  the  solid  foundation  of  his 
glorious  faith,  and  he  may  go  forth  in  the  Nazarene  world 
unharmed  ;  and  in  other  professions,  other  lines  than  that  of 
merchant,  in  which  alone  till  now  the  Jew  has  been  known,  he 
will  honor  the  name  of  Israelite. 

And  if  such  be  the  fruit  of  nursing  her  child  for  God,  oh ! 
will  not  every  Hebrew  mother  feel,  that  she  has  indeed  received 
"  her  wages  ?" 


150  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 


CHAPTER   n. 

THE   EXODUS. LAWS   FOR   THE   MOTHERS   OF 

ISRAEL. 

We  have  seen  quoted  in  a  Jewish  periodical,  "  that  it  was  for 
the  sake  of  the  righteous  women  the  Lord  dehvered  our 
ancestors  from  Egypt."  Scriptural  authority  for  this  assertion 
we  certainly  cannot  find,  as  it  is  expressly  said,  "  the  Lord 
remembered  the  promises  which  he  had  made  to  Abraham, 
Isaac,  and  Jacob."  We  only  quote  it  as  a  proof  that  the  ancient 
fathers  from  whom'  we  believe  it  taken,  could  not  have  had  the 
low  idea  of  women  with  which  they  are  charged,  to  have  put 
such  an  opinion  forth,  even  in  suggestion ;  but  must  have 
imagined  the  righteousness  of  women  of  no  little  importance 
towards  the  well-doing  of  the  state.  That  so,  in  feet,  it  is,  we 
have  direct  scriptural  authority  to  believe  ;  as  not  only  a  review 
of  the  law  will  make  manifest,  but  the  consequences  of  the  sins 
of  the  women  in  a  more  distant  period.  Were  not  woman  an 
equally  responsible  agent  in  the  sight  of  God — were  He  not  in 
His  infinite  mercy  tenderly  careful  of  her  innocence,  her  honor, 
her  well-doing,  her  protection  by  man — no  law  for  her  in  par- 
ticular need  have  been  issued,  nor  such  especial  care  taken  to 
clej^nse  her  from  impurity  and  guilt,  to  free  her  from  false 
charges  and  an  unjust  husband,  to  permit  and  sanctify  her 
singular  vow,  and  give  her  every  incentive  for  a  chaste,  virtuous, 
and  modest  life.  This  need  not  have  been — would  not  have 
been — if  the  Eternal  had  not,  in  His  compassionating  love, 
regarded  His  frailer,  weaker  children  with  even  more  tenderness 
than  He  looked  on  man,  and  resolved  on  fixing  her  station  and 
her  privileges,  and  so  bringing  her  forward  as  an  object  at  once 
of  tenderness  and  respect — of  cherishing,  as  a  wife  and 
daughter — of  the  deepest  veneration,  as  a  mother — the  especial 
object  of  national  as  well  as  individual  love  and  protection,  as 
widowed  and  fatherless — and  of  the  kindest,  most  fatherly  care 
and  gentleness,  as  the  maid-servant.     Nay,  even  thr<  female 


PERIOD      II.  MOTHERS      OF      ISRAEL.      151 

captive  was  marked  out  for  fostering  and  healing  kindness,  and 
allowed  time  fur  mourning,  instead  of,  as  in  the  case  of  other 
nations,  aye,  even  those  of  later  days  who  called  themselves 
followers  of  Je^us,  being  hurried  to  the  bed  of  the  brutal 
conqueror,  who  was  often  still  reeking  with  the  blood  of  her 
relations.  How  then  can  it  be  said,  that  in  every  other  religion 
save  that  of  the  Nazarene,  woman's  station  is  "degraded,  even 
as  the  heathen  and  the  slave  ? 

With  a  mighty  arm  the  Lord  had  brought  forth  Israel  from 
the  land  of  bondage,  enriched  by  the  spoil,  which  they  did  not 
'borrow  from  the  Egyptians,  as  the  usual  translation  renders  it, 
but  had  demanded^  as  their  right  from  weary  years  of  unpaid 
labor,  and  which,  terrified  at  the  awful  plagues  which  had  be- 
fallen them,  was  granted  them  at  once.  "  The  Lord  gave  the  people 
favor  in  the  sight  of  the  Egyptians,"  are  words  twice  repeated, 
thus  doing  away  at  once  all  idea  of  the  Eternal  having  favored 
fraud,  even  against  His  enemies  and  the  enemies  of  His  people. 
They  demanded  the  long  arrears  of  payment,  and  they  were 
given,  in  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of  gold ;  and  so,  not  by 
deceit,  but  in  justice,  they,  to  use  the  Bible  language,  "  spoiled 
the  Egyptians." 

The  powers  of  Nature  herself  succumbed  before  the  mighty 
will  of  her  Creator.  Fire,  earth,  air,  and  water,  had  departed 
from  what  is  called  their  natural  course,  to  bring  forth  Israel 
from  bondage,  and  to  falsify  at  once  the  awful  denial  of  a  God, 
in  the  vain  dream  of  necessity  and  nature.  The  sea  itself — as 
the  final  seal  to  the  stupendous  manifestations  of  Almighty 
Power  displayed  in  the  ten  plagues — divided  at  the  word  of  its 
Creator,  and  the  host  of  Israel — men,  women,  and  little  children 
— passed  through  on  dry  land,  with  a  watery  wall,  seeming  to 
unite  earth  to  heaven,  on  either  side.  And  when  the  unbe 
lieving  scoffers  followed — when,  denying  still  the  sanctity  oi 
Israel,  the  wonders  of  Israel's  God,  the  chariots  and  hosts 
of  Pharaoh  dashed  on  in  vain  defiance  of  the  Lord — down  tum- 
bled the  overwhelming  mass  of  mighty  waters,  and  the  proud 
hosts  of  Pharaoh  lay  dead  before  their  slaves.  And  when  the 
song  of  thanksgiving,  of  adoration,  rose  from  the  hearts  and  hps 
of  the  redeemed,  the  voice  not  only  of  man  but  of  woman  pro- 
longed the  strain.  "  And  Miriam  the  prophetess,  the  sister  of 
Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand ;  and  all  the  women  went 
after  her  with  timbrels  and  with  dances.     And  Miriam  answered 

VOL.   I.  8 


152  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

them,  Sing  ye  to  the  Lord !  for  He  hath  triumphed  gloriously. 
The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the  sea." 

Woman  is  not  gifted  with  a  silvery  voice  and  an  ear  for  har- 
mony, to  devote  to  the  pleasure  of  man  alone.  Let  her  devote 
them  sometimes  to  the  praises  of  the  Lord,  and  bid  the  psalm 
of  thanksgiving  filling  the  sanctuary  of  the  Lord  be  answered  from 
her  lips  ;  and  the  sweet  sanctuary  of  home,  at  morning  and 
evening  ])rayer,  behold  her  leading  infant  lips  to  tune  their  first 
song  in  thanksgiving  to  their  Father  ind  their  God, 

As  a  general  view  of  the  beautiful  laws  constituting  the  Mo- 
saic religion  does  not  enter  into  the  plan  of  this  work,  we  shall' 
throw  together  those  portions  on  which,  as  they  regard  woman, 
we  shall  somewhat  lengthily  treat,  without  any  reference  to  their 
probable  dates.  We  know  that  all  the  laws  forming  our  religion 
were  given  between  their  departure  from  Egypt  and  arrival  in 
the  promised  land,  and  are  contained  principally  in  chapters  19, 
20,  21,  22,  23,  and  29  of  Exodus — in  the  whole  book  of  Levi- 
ticus—in chapters  5,  6,  8,  9,  15,  16,  IT,  27,  28,  29,  30,  35,  and 
36  of  Numbers — and  in  the  whole  book  of  Deuteronomy.  From 
these  we  select  and  examine  all  that  can  give  weight  to,  and 
throw  light  upon,  the  six  divisions  of  our  present  subject. 

As  the  first  and  most  beautiful  relationship  in  which 
woman  is  undeniably  necessary  to  man — the  object  of  his  first 
affections,  to  whom  he  owes  all  of  cherishing,  happiness,  and 
health,  from  infancy  to  boyhood,  and  often  from  boyhood  to 
youth  ;  and  who,  in  consequence,  must  be  entwined  with  every 
fold  remembrance  of  childhood,  the  recollection  of  which  is  often 
the  only  soother,  the  only  light,  in  the  darker  heart  of  man — 
it  is  but  just  that  we  should  examine,  first,  how  the  holy  rela- 
tionship of  a  Mother  in  Israel  is  guarded  and  noticed  by  our 
law. 

The  very  first  command  relative  to  the  duties  of  man  towards 
man,  marks  out  the  position  of  children  with  regard  to  their 
parents,  male  and  female,  the  representatives  of  God  on  earth. 
It  was  not  enough  that  such  position  should  be  left  to  the  natu- 
ral impulses  of  gratitude  and  atfection — not  enough  that  the  love 
and  reverence  of  a  child  to  his  parent  should  be  left  to  his  own 
heart,  although  in  the  cases  of  both  Isaac  and  Jacob  such  had 
been  so  distinctly  manifested.  No  ;  the  same  tremendous  voice 
which  bade  the  very  earth  quake,  and  the  fast  rooted  mountain 
reel — which   spoke   in  the  midst  of  thunders  and  lightnings, 


P  E  II  I  O  D       11.  M  O  T  11  K  R  S       OF       I  S  K  A  K  L  .       J  5." 

"  Thou  slialt  have  no  other  gods  but  me," — also  said,  "  Honor 
thy  father  and  thy  Mother,"  and  added  unto  its  obedience  a 
promise  of  reward,  the  only  command  to  which  recompense  is 
annexed,  that  its  obedience  might  indeed  be  an  obedience  of 
love.  And  lest  there  should  be  some  natures  so  stubborn  and 
obtuse  that  the  fear  of  punishment  only  could  affect,  we  read  in 
the  repetition,  and,  as  it  were,  enlargement  on  the  ten  com- 
mandments, "  And  he  that  smiteth  his  Axther  or  his  mother 
shall  surely  be  put  to  death,  and  he  that  curseth  or  revileth  his 
father  or  his  mother  shall  surely  be  put  to  death  "  (Exodus 
xxi.  15 — 17).  "  Ye  shall  fear  every  man  his  mother  and 
his  father,  and  keep  my  sabbaths  ;  I  am  the  Lord  "  (Levit.  xix. 
3).  "  For  every  one  that  curseth  his  father  or  his  mother,  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death.  He  that  cursed  his  flither  or  his  mother, 
his  blood  shall  be  upon  him."  And  again,  in  Deuteronomy  v.  16, 
we  have  the  repetition  of  the  fifth  commandment,  the  reward 
attending  its  obedience  still  more  vividly  enforced  :  "  Honor 
thy  father  and  thy  mother,  as  the  Lord  thy  God  hath  com- 
manded thee,  that  thy  days  may  be  prolonged,  and  that  it  may 
go  well  with  thee  in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth 
thee." 

With  laws  like  these,  bearing  on  every  one  of  them  the 
stamp  of  divine  truth,  of  a  sacred  solemnity  which  could  come 
from  God  alone,  how  can  any  one  believe  in,  much  less  assert, 
the  Jewish  degradation  of  woman,  or  call  that  Judaism  which 
upholds  it ! 

How  could  these  solemn  and  often  reiterated  commands  be 
obeyed,  if  the  son  of  Israel  beheld  his  mother  merely  the  igno- 
rant bond-slave  of  his  father  ?  How  could  he  honor  her  ?  What 
could  have  such  influence  upon  his  moments  of  passion  as  to 
restrain  him,  when  so  tempted,  from  smiting,  reviling,  or  cursino- 
her  ?  How  could  he  fear  her,  when  he  beheld  her  tremblino- 
before  his  father,  not  as  her  husband,  but  as  her  master  ?  But 
such  he  saw  not.  Weaker  in  frame,  from  her  position  and  her 
duties  ;  less  mighty  in  mental  powers,  yet  possessing  every  attri- 
bute to  make  home  blessed,  and  her  children  holy  followers  of 
God,  virtuous  and  patriotic  citizens  of  their  land  ;  shrined  in  his 
heart  with  every  memory  of  his  infancy  ; — such  was  the  Hebrew 
mother  to  her  son.  Were  the  laws  obeyed,  there  could  be  no 
neglectful  or  sinning  mother.  Not  even  suspicion  could  attack 
her.     The  law  guarded  her  even  from  her  own  relatives,  if  they 


154  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

falsely  wronged  her,  compelled  her,  even  under  the  fear  ofdeath4 
to  be  chaste,  hoi)',  virtuous,  and  faithful  in  every  duty  of  domestic 
and  public  life  ;  and,  therefore,  it  was  a  labor  of  love  for  her 
children  to  obey  their  God  in  honoring  her,  and  a  crime  worthy 
of  death,  if  indeed  there  could  be  found  any  sufficiently  hardened 
and  rebellious  as  to  disobey. 

Again,  we  find  in  Deut.  xxi.  18,  "  If  a  man  have  a  stubborn 
and  rebellious  son,  wliich  will  not  obey  the  voice  of  his  father  or 
the  voice  of  his  mother,  and  who,  when  they  h^ve  chastened 
him,  will  not  hearken  unto  them,  then  shall  his  father  and  his 
MOTHER  lay  hold  of  him,  and  bring  him  to  the  elders  of  the  city, 
and  unto  the  gate  of  his  place.  And  they  shall  say  unto  the 
elders  of  the  city,  This  our  son  is  stubborn  and  rebellious  ;  he 
will  not  obey  our  voice.  And  all  the  men  of  his  city  shall  stone 
hira  with  stones  that  he  die.  So  shalt  thou  put  away  evil  from 
among  you,  that  all  Israel  shall  hear  and  fear." 

We  here  find  at  length  a  practical  commentary  or  example, 
as  it  were,  of  the  briefer  laws  on  the  same  subject,  given  pre- 
viously. To  modern  ears,  and  present  notions  of  false  refine- 
ment, such  commands  seem  unnaturally  harsh  and  terrible.  In 
those  times,  they  must  have  been  needed,  or  they  would  not 
have  been  given.  And  beautifully,  even  in  their  harshness,  do 
they  demonstrate  the  reverential  duty  of  Israelitish  children  to 
their  parents.  Still  more  powerfully  do  they  illustrate  the  per- 
fect equality  of  father  and  mother  in  respect  to  their  children. 
It  was  not  only  that  disobedience  to  the  latter  was  equally 
punishable  as  to  the  former,  but  that  the  voice  of  the  mother 
vvas  also  to  condemn  her  son,  or  he  could  not  be  proved  guilty ; 
a  peculiarly  just  law  in  a  nation  where  more  than  one  wife  was 
allowed.  Without  it,  how  often  might  the  more  favored  work 
upon  the  husband  to  believe  false  tales  of  the  offspring  of  her 
rival !  How  often  might  innocence  have  been  ccndenmed,  in- 
justice and  cruelty  permitted,  in  a  man's  own  household  !  Evils 
effectually  prevented  by  the  father's  witness  being  unavailable 
without  that  of  the  accused's  own  mother — one,  we  must  feel, 
not  at  aU  likely  to  come  forward  against  her  own  child,  unless 
his  crimes  had  been  so  heinous  as  to  prevent  the  possibility  of 
her  shielding  him  any  longer.  We  have  no  recorded  instance 
of  such  a  fearful  evil  in  Israel ;  but  the  severe  law  given  in  case 
of  such,  should  never  be  forgotten  by  us,  marking,  as  it  does, 


PKKIOD      II.  MOTHERS      OF      ISRAEL.        155 

the  wrath  and  justice  of  the  Lord  against  all  those  of  His  chosen 
people  who  could  forg-et,  neglect,  or  wilfully  abuse,  in  any  one 
point,  their  duty  to  their  earthly  parents. 

Although  mothers  are  not  indi\  idually  commanded  to  instruct 
their  children  in  the  knowledge  of  God  and  His  Law,  they  are 
certainly  joined  with  the  fathers  in  the  performance  of  that 
sacred  duty.  Every  statute,  every  ordinance,  given  by  the  Lord 
to  Moses,  was  always  introduced  by  the  command,  "  Speak  ye 
to  the  Children  of  Israel ;"  "  Say  ye  to  the  children  of  Israel ;" 
or,  "  Hear,  0  Israel  ;"  words  including  the  whole  congregation, 
male  and  female.  Had  man  only  been  included,  Moses  would 
have  addressed  them  as  sons,  or  as  fathers  of  tribes,  as  we  tind 
Aaron  and  his  sons,  and  the  priests  or  Levites,  in  some  few  in- 
stances particularly  specified.  That  woman  is  intimately  joined 
with  man  in  the  religious  instruction  of  her  children,  is  also 
proved  by  the  fact  that  the  mothers  of  the  kings  of  Israel  and 
Judali  are  always  mentioned  by  name,  as  if  to  them,  yet  more 
than  to  their  fathers,  they  owed  their  early  impressions  of  good 
or  evil  which  their  after  lives  displayed.  The  very  commands 
regarding  parents  are  strong  confirmation.  A  son  could  not 
honor,  and  fear,  and  love  his  mother,  if  he  only  owed  her  his 
first  nourishment,  and  received  nothing  at  her  hand  but  the 
same  instinctive  care  as  the  brute  creation  dis])lay  towards  their 
young.  The  immortal  mind  and  soul  of  man  must  have  some- 
thing more  to  reverence  and  fear,  even  if  the  natural  links  bind- 
ing mother  and  son  were  sufficient  (which  we  much  doubt)  to 
call  for  love.  In  conmianding  reverence  and  obedience  from 
children,  God  knew  that  He  had  so  gifted  the  Hebrew  mother, 
and  so  marked  her  duties  and  position,  as  to  render  such  emo- 
tions merel}^  her  due.  To  her,  then,  as  well  as  to  the  father, 
are  those  important  injunctions  contained  in  Dent.  vi.  20 — 2b, 
empiiatically  addressed  ;  and  according  to  the  measure  of  her 
obedience  to  them,  so  will  be  the  measure  of  her  children's  reve- 
rence and  love. 

The  same  chapter,  but  a  few  verses  previous,  had  solemnly 
commanded  Israel  to  love  the  Lord  his  God  with  heaii,  and 
soul,  and  might — to  lay  his  words  upon  his  own  heart,  and 
teach  them  diligently  to  his  children.  And,  after  demanding 
obedience  and  righteousness  in  other  statutes,  proceeds  :  "  And 
when  thy  son  asketh  thee  in  time  to  come,  saying.  What  mean 
these  testimonies,  and  statutes,  and  judgments  which  the  Lord 


156  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

our  God  hath  commanded  you  ?  Then  thou  shalt  say  unto  thy 
son,  We  were  Pharaoh's  bondmen  in  Egypt,  and  the  Lord 
brought  us  out  of  Egypt  with  a  mighty  hand  ;  and  the  Lord 
showed  signs  and  wonders,  great  and  sore,  upon  Egypt,  upon 
Pharaoh,  and  upon  all  his  household  before  our  eyes ;  and  He 
brought  us  out  from  thence  that  he  might  bring  us  in,  to  give 
us  the  land  whicli  He  sware  unto  our  fathers.  And  the  Lord 
commanded  us  to  do  all  these  statutes,  to  fear  the  Lord  our 
God,  for  our  good  always,  that  He  might  preserve  us  alive,  as  it 
is  at  this  day.  And  it  is  our  righteousness  if  we  observe  to  do 
all  these  commandments  before  the  Lord  our  God,  as  He  hath 
commanded  us. 

On  the  weighty  all,  which  to  Hebrew  parents  is  comprised  in 
these  emiihatic  verses,  we  must  not  at  present  linger,  save  to  ob- 
serve, that  much  as  was  required  from  parents,  when  the  law 
was  given,  and  in  Jerusalem,  still  more  is  needed  now.  AVe 
have  to  add  to  the  history  of  our  bondage  and  redemption,  that 
of  our  glory  and  our  sins — of  our  first  captivity  and  our  partial 
restoration — our  renewed  and  increased  iniquities — of  the  long 
suftei'ing,  long  forbearance  of  an  infinitely  merciful  God — of  His 
averted,  yet  at  length  falling  wrath — of  our  exile,  our  persecu- 
tion, and  misery — all  which  Moses  himself  foretold  ;  and  yet 
our  never-dying  hope,  our  incentive  for  constancy,  even  through 
the  flames  of  martyrdom,  or  the  more  lingering  martyrdom  of  a 
ci'ushed  spirit  and  broken  heart ;  the  imperative  necessity  of  a 
return  unto  the  Lord  through  humility  and  righteousness,  trust- 
ing in  Him  to  purify  and  save. 

All  this  must  now  be  added  to  the  parental  instruction 
enforced  by  Moses  :  and  all  this  is  equally  demanded  from  the 
mother  as  from  the  father,  would  they  receive  to  its  fuh  extent 
the  reverence  ordained  by  God  Himself.  For  not  hj  precejH 
alone  must  this  instruction  be  given.  The  young  spirit  must 
be  led  by  example  as  well  as  exhortation.  Let  him  see  that 
the  instructions  of  his  parents  come  from  the  heart  as  well  as 
lips — influence  their  thoughts,  words,  and  actions — nay,  their 
very  being — and  never  need  they  despair.  However  long  it 
may  be  before  the  fruit  they  have  sown  appear,  it  will  spring 
into  beautiful  maturity  at  last,  and  shed  its  purest  fragrance  in 
that  hour  when  the  faitliful  mother  watches  the  rapid  approach 
of  that  last  struggle  which  shall  wing  her  spirit  to  the  footstool 
of  her  God. 


PERIOD      II, MOTHERS      OF      ISRAEL.       lo7 

Will,  then,  the  Hebrew  mother  rest  content  with  the  station 
assigned  her  by  the  ignorant  and  the  prejudiced,  and  not  strain 
every  nerve,  rouse  every  energy,  to  make  the  command  of  the 
Eternal  for  her  children  to  honor  and  fear  her,  easy,  and  joyous 
to  obey  ? 

She  has  done,  and  she  does  this  !  Not  a  slur,  not  a  stigraa, 
not  a  shadow  can  be  Hung  upon  the  conduct  of  Hebrew  mothers 
to  their  offspring.  Neglect,  injustice,  partiality,  want  of  affec- 
tion, harshness,  coldness  flung  by  fashion  between  mother  and 
child,  that  littleness  and  jealousy  which  would  keep  back  youth- 
ful loveliness  for  a  longer  individual  reign, — such  things  may  be 
known — may  be  common — among  other  nations,  but  to  the 
Hebrew  they  are  utterly  unknown.  It  is  easy  to  assert  that  the 
woman  of  Israel  is  degraded  and  a  slave ;  but  did  such  false 
accusers  visit  a  domestic  circle — did  they  but  see  a  Hebrew 
mother  and  her  children — they  would  find  it  difficult  to  prove 
it.  Then  let  every  son  of  Israel  receive  such  religious  training 
from  his  mother,  in  addition,  or  rather  closely  twined,  to  the 
moral  and  intellectual  education  she  has  so  long  given,  that  he 
may  be  ready,  from  his  very  boyhood,  indignantly  to  repudiate 
the  charge,  and  prove,  by  his  whole  conduct — alike  in  public 
career,  as  well  as  his  domestic  reverence  and  love — that  his 
mother  is  as  free  in  the  sight  of  man,  as  responsible  in  the  sight 
of  God,  and  as  much  the  possessor  of  an  immortal  spirit  as  his 
father  and  himself. 

To  the  Mosaic  religion,  then,  and  to  no  other,  does  not  only 
Israel,  but  every  other  nation  by  whom  the  Bible  is  acknow- 
ledged divine,  owe  the  elevation,  the  dignity,  the  holiness  of 
woman  as  a  mother,  a  position  marked  out  by  God  Himself, 
and  proclaimed  and  held  sacred,  not  only  by  the  awful  threat  of 
punishment,  but  by  the  solemn  promise  of  divine  reward.  How 
sacred  then  to  every  son  and  daughter  of  Israel  must  be  their 
duty  to  their  parents !  Disobedience,  neglect,  ecorn,  are  no 
longer  capital  offences  according  to  the  justice  of  man ;  but, 
oh !  let  us  not  for  one  moment  forget,  that  the  same  God  who 
commanded  that  such  they  should  be,  is  watching  over  Israel 
still,  will  demand  from  every  child  if  His  command  has  been 
obeyed — from  every  parent  if  they  have  done  their  duty,  and 
taught  their  children  from  earliest  years,  that  disobedience  to 
them  is  disobedience  to  their  God,  and  in  His  eyes,  and  in  His 
lavj,  a  capital  offence.     Were  this  truth  niore  constantly,  more 


158  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

impressively  enforced,  the  reciprocal  duties  of  parent  and  child 
would  be  more  easily  and  more  happily  fulfilled  ;  and  the  heart- 
burnings, the  anguish,  occasioned  to  parents  by  neglect  and 
unkindness,  and  the  rebellion  and  constant  struggles  of  their 
offspring  to  fling  off  an  authority  which  has  never  been  exerted 
in  infancy,  and  so  nnist  gall  in  youth,  alike  be  at  an  end,  and 
Israel's  homes,  as  well  as  Israel's  law,  proclaim  the  guiding  spirit 
and  loving  mercy  of  the  Lord. 


CHAPTER    III 

LAWS       FOR       THE       WIVES       OF       ISRAEL. 

The  laws  instituted  for  the  protection,  the  position,  the  duties, 
of  the  wives  of  Israel,  were  more  peculiar  to  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  East  only,  than  those  relative  to  mothers,  which 
can  be  obeyed  and  attended  to  in  every  age  and  clime.  Still 
much  was  instituted,  even  with  regard  to  wives,  which  marked 
and  fixed  their  position,  and  decidedly  elevated  woman  in  the 
scale  of  being,  and  proved  that,  though,  as  was  just  and  wise, 
"  her  desires  must  bow  to  her  husband,  and  he  should  rule  ovei 
her,"  yet  that  this  rule  was  to  be  one  of  perfect  confidence 
and  love. 

It  has  always  appeared  a  mystery,  how  any  person,  even 
among  the  Gentiles,  who  has  seriously  reflected  on,  and  studied 
the  word  of  God,  can  assert  that  it  was  only  through  the 
preaching  of  Jesus  and  his  apostles  that  woman  took  her  proper 
station,  and  those  ordinances  were  given,  which  restrained  the 
passions  of  men,  and  made  marriage  a  pure  and  holy  tie. 
Centuries  before  the  advent  of  Christianity,  those  laws  wee 
given,  which,  regarding  and  prohibiting  too  near  consanguinity 
in  marriage,  are  acknowledged  and  obeyed  by  the  whole  civi- 
lized world.  Where  do  we  find,  amid  the  Gentile  nations,  the 
purity,  the  chastity,  the  stainless  virtue  of  woman,  to  the  extent 


PERIOD      II. WIVES      OF      ISRAEL.  159 

which  is  still  the  glory  of  Israel,  and  which  owes  its  origin 
simply  to  the  laws  which  were  issued  by  the  Lord  through 
Moses  ;  seeming,  indeed,  most  terribly  severe,  but  blessed  in 
their  very  severity  by  the  beautiful  purity  in  Israel  which  they 
wrou'j-ht?  Were  the  law  of  Moses  universally  recei\'ed,  how 
different  would  be  the  aspect  of  the  world  ! 

Polygamy  was  permitted  in  Israel,  at  the  period  of  the  deli-  ' 
very  of  the  law,  simply  because  the  Eternal's  mercy  would  not 
interfere  with  an  immemorial  usage,  which  his  wisdom  knew, 
from  local  customs  and  long-indulged  habit,  would  demand 
violence  to  be  relinquished.  The  laws  lie  instituted  in  no  way 
interfered  with  those  habits  of  His  people  which  custom  had 
endeared ;  His  prescience  leaving  to  time  that  improvement  and 
greater  refinement  of  the  human  race,  which  demands  ages  to 
accomplish,  but  which  would  at  length  fling  aside  of  itself  every 
fetter  that  once  had  linked  it  to  the  customs  of  less  enlightened 
nations.  The  Eternal  never  works  by  superhuman  agency, 
when  His  gracious  plans  can  be  accomplished  without  it.  "  A 
thousand  years  in  His  sight  are  but  as  yesterday  when  passed, 
and  as  a  watch  in  the  night ;"  but  His  infinite  wisdom  knew, 
that,  to  finite  man,  that  period  is  ever  fraught  with  progression, 
and  His  omniscience  leaves  to  time,  according  to  the  reckoning 
of  humanity,  the  eflect  of  His  law  in  the  amelioration  and  im- 
provement of  the  human  race.  Our  very  banishment  amid  the 
nations,  a  banishment  occasioned  by  Israel's  sinful  abuse  of  the 
tender  mercies  of  the  Lord — by  his  retrogression  instead  of  ad- 
vancement, in  the  glorious  career  to  which  he  was  destined — by 
his  indulgence  of  every  guilty  passion,  and  utter  forgetfulness  of 
his  fethers'  God  to  bow  down  before  the  idols  of  his  idolatrous 
wives — this  very  banishment  will  purify  Israel  from  the  grosser 
part  of  his  Eastern  nature,  and  render  him  fitted,  by  increase  of 
purity  and  refinement,  to  become  once  more  the  first  born  of 
the  Lord,  from  whose  beautiful  land  those  laws  shall  issue  once 
a^ain,  to  emanate  in  reviviuo-  light  and  o-ladness  over  the  whole, 
world.  "imL 

But,  though  permitted  by  the  Mosaic  law,  polygamy  was  so  I 
restricted,  that  the  protection,  happiness,  and  well-doing  of  both 
wives  were  provided  for;  no  partiality  could  permit  injustice; 
the  man  that  did  so  wixs  punishable  by  law.  "  If  a  man  have 
two  wives,  the  one  beloved  and  the  other  hated,  and  they  have 
borne  him  children,  both  the  beloved  and  the  hated,  and  if  the 


160  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

first-born  son  be  hers  that  is  hated,  then  it  shall  be,  when  he 
maketh  his  sons  to  inherit  all  that  he  hath,  that  he  may  not 
make  the  son  of  the  beloved  first  born  before  the  son  of  the 
hated,  which  is  indeed  thp  first  born,  but  he  shall  acknowledge 
the  son  of  the  hated  for  the  first  born,  by  giving  him  a  double 
portion  of  all  that  he  hath." 

The  Hebrew  term  translated  hated  here,  as  in  the  case  of 
Leah,  does  not  signify  so  strong  a  feeling,  but  simply  the  one 
less  beloved  than  the  other.  And,  as  had  already  been  practi- 
cally illustrated  in  the  wives  of  the  Patriarch  Jacob,  this  law 
provides  for,  and  fixes  the  perfect  equality  of  both  ;  guarding 
tlie  less  beloved  from  all  the  evil  eftects  of  indiscriminate  par- 
tiality, and  utterly  preventing  the  father  from  doing  injustice  to 
her  otispring.  The  care  taken  of  every  member  of  a  Jewish 
family — from  the  strongest  to  the  weakest — by  the  law  of  God, 
would,  had  that  law  been  obeyed,  have  efi'ectually  prevented 
that  fearful  abuse  of  the  Lord's  mercy  in  not  interfering  with 
the  ancient  customs  of  His  people,  which  in  the  time  of  the 
monarchy  so  disgraced  and  desecrated  Israel.  But  let  not  the 
scoffer  cast  the  odium  of  such  abuse  on  the  Jewish  Law.  That 
law  was  pure — infused  with  the  love,  the  compassion,  the  fos- 
tering care,  the  justice,  and  the  severity  of  the  God  from  whom 
it  came.  Its  obedience  would  have  wrought  "the  days  of 
heaven  upon  the  earth."  Its  disobedience,  springing  from  the 
innate  sinfuhiess  of  man,  wrought  evil  from  the  good,  and 
plunged  the  whole  nation  of  Israel  into  that  fearful  abyss  of 
crime,  which  could  only  be  expiated  by  ages  of  misery  and 
blood. 

But  though  allowed  to  exist  without  being  considered  a  crime 
at  the  period  of  the  redemption  from  Egypt,  for  the  reasons 
stated  above,  the  laws  of  Moses,  relating  to  conjugal  duties,  pro- 
vided for  one  wife  alone,  thus  proving  the  superior  and  holier 
purity  of  such  unions  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  thus  forcibly 
marking  the  distinction  between  those  customs  which  were  to 
last  for  ever,  through  every  age,  and  race,  and  clime,  and  those 
which  were  merely  nationalized  from  previous  habit  and  asso- 
ciation. 

The  oneness  of  heart  and  feeling,  of  purpose  and  obedience, 
which  was  ordained  by  God  Himself,  from  the  very  beginning, 
to  exist  between  husband  and  wife,  and  which  could  only  spring 
from  perfect  equality,  is  most  beautifully  infused  throughout  the 


PERIOD       II.  "WIVES       OF       ISRAEL.  161 

law.  Inferred  from  the  simple  fact,  that  in  every  recorded 
instance  of  enumeration  at  festivals,  eating-  of  holy  meats,  obedi- 
ence to  commandments,  &c.,  the  wife  is  not  distinctly  men- 
tioned, although  every  other  domestic  relation  is  expressly 
stated.  As  one  with  her  husband,  the  wife  was  included  in  the 
emphatic  thou,  to  whom  the  command  or  ordinance  was  ad- 
dressed. The  children  and  servants  of  a  household  might  have 
rebelliously  turned  aside  from  the  precepts  of  the  Lord,  but  the 
wife's  duty  and  hapjjiness  were  one  with  her  husband's.  Her 
will  was  his,  when  that  will  was  guided  and  sanctified  by  the 
will  of  God.  That  she  could  require  the  divine  command  indi- 
vidually to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day,  to  share  the  feast  of  the 
offerings,  &c.,  was  a  supposition  too  utterly  at  variance  with  her 
duty  as  a  daughter  and  wife  in  Israel,  to  demand  a  distinct  law  ; 
being  counted  amongst  those  to  whom  Moses  proclaimed,  "When 
all  Israel  is  come  to  appear  before  the  Lord  thy  God,  in  the 
place  which  He  shall  choose,  thou  shalt  read  this  law  before  all 
Israel  in  their  hearing ;  Gather  the  people  together,  men, 
women,  and  children,  and  the  stranger  that  is  within  thy  gates, 
that  they  may  hear,  and  that  they  may  learn,  and  fear  the  Lord 
your  God,  and  observe  to  do  all  the  words  of  this  law,"  no  He- 
brew wife  could  have  needed  more,  for  she,  as  well  as  her 
husband — one  with  him — was  the  recipient,  the  obeyer,  and  the 
promulgator  of  every  law  in  which  there  was  no  specified  dis 
tinction  of  individual  duties. 

That  the  omission  of  wife  in  the  commandments  and  ordi- 
nances which  specify  other  members  of  the  family,  cannot  be 
taken  in  any  other  light,  is  proved  by  the  fact,  that  wherever 
there  was  a  possibility  of  her  occupying  a  distinct  position,  or 
being  engaged  in  anj  devices  or  employments  contrary  to  the 
will  of  her  husband,  she  is  expressly  named. 

"  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  wife,^''  is  emphatically 
commanded  by  the  same  Divine  Voice  which  omitted  her,  or 
rather  included  her  in  the  "  thoii'''  to  whom  the  fourth  of  the. 
same  precepts,  whence  the  line  we  have  quoted  was  the  tenth, 
was  given.  Thus  guarding  her  safety,  and  prohibiting  the  very 
first  thought  towards  her  which  could  have  led  to  sin. 

Again,  "  if  thy  brother,  the  son  of  thy  mother,  or  thy  son, 
or  thy  daughter,  or  the  loife  of  thy  bosom,  or  the  friend  whom' 
thou  lovest  as  thine  own  soul,  entice  thee  secretly,  saying,  '  Let 
us  go  and  serve  other  gods,  whom  thou  hast  not  knowii,  thou 


162  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

nor  thy  fathers,'  &c.,  thou  shalt  not  consent  unto  hira,  nor 
hearken  unto  him  ;  neither  shall  thine  eye  pity,  neither  shalt  thou 
spare,  neither  shalt  thou  conceal  him."  Here,  in  intimate  conjunc- 
tion with  the  preceding  commandment,  is  a  positive  mention  of 
the  wife,  supposing  her  to  be  actuated  by  feelings  and  principles 
so  distinct  from  her  husband,  as  to  tempt  him  to  sin.  The 
omission  of  wives  in  ordinances  where  every  other  member  of 
the  household  is  named,  is  not  then  in  any  way  whatever  to 
suppose  her  a  nonentity,  a  mere  name  in  Israel,  but  simply  to 
mark  her  oneness  with  her  husband,  in  every  duty  to  her  God, 
and  in  every  command  and  restriction  of  His  law  addressed 
to  the  CHILDREN   of  Israel,   and,  therefore,  binding  on  them 

BOTH. 

"  When  a  man  has  taken  a  wife,  he  shall  not  go  out  to 
war;  neither  shall  he  be  charged  with  any  business,  but  he 
shall  be  free  at  home  for  one  year."  Were  this  the  whole  law, 
we  might  justly  suppose  that  the  happiness  of  man  was  alone 
regarded ;  but  it  is  not  so.  Why  was  this  year  of  release 
granted  him  ?  For  his  own  enjoyment  ?  his  own  pleasure  ? 
No !  but  to  "  cheer  up  " — or,  in  other  words,  to  make  happy 
— the  wife  which  he  had  taken.  Words  how  exquisitely 
descriptive  of  the  Eternal's  tender  sympathy  in  the  earthly 
happiness  of  his  children  !  He  condescended  to  enter  into  the 
minute  details  of  domestic  life  ;  He  guarded  even  their  earthly 
happiness  from  all  contingencies,  and  proved  that  he  demanded 
not  His  love  to  be  realized  only  in  sorrow,  but  that  joy,  chas- 
tened, spiritualized  by  gratitude  and  love,  was  equally  acceptable 
and  blessed. 

Man  might  find  happiness  apart  from  his  wife,  even  in  the 
first  year  of  his  marriage.  The  exciting  call  of  war,  or  the  grosser 
and  more  engrossing  claims  of  business,  might  easily  obtain 
such  dominion  as  to  render  him  less  careful  of  his  home,  less 
anxious  for  the  happiness  of  his  wife,  than  were  he  free. 
Woman  has  no  such  claims  to  share  her  heart  with  her  hus- 
band. Almost  more  than  any  other  time  in  her  young  exist- 
ence does  she  need  the  protecting  care  and  fostering  tenderness 
of  man,  in  the  first  year  of  her  wedded  life.  She  has  left  the 
home  of  her  youth,  the  fond  parents  who  had  lavished  on  her 
such  love  and  care,  that  it  seems  strange  how  she  can  possibly 
exist  without  them.  She  has  turned  from  her  occupations,  the 
imusements  of  her  early  years,  dear  from  long  association,  to 


PERIOD      II. VflVKS      OF      ISRAEL.  163 

eater  into  an  entirely  new  scene,  new  feelings,  new  duties,  new 
responsibilities  :  and  for  guidance  and  support,  under  her  God, 
looks  with  justice  to  her  husband  alone.  She  may  be  called 
upon  to  battle  with  sickness  and  with  pain,  and  she  has  no 
longer  a  mother  beside  her  to  give  her  the  fond  cares  of  a  ten- 
der nurse,  and  take  from  her  all  household  duties.  She  has 
turned  from  all  for  the  love  of  One !  And  how  may  she  be 
happy  if  that  one  be  torn  from  her  by  the  call  to  war,  perhaps 
never  to  return,  or  by  civil  duties,  which,  though  the  lesser  evil, 
might  yet  check  the  daily  intercourse  of  mutual  love  and  con- 
fidence for  which  she  pines  ? 

But,  left  "  free  for  one  year,"  how  much  of  felicity,  not  only  for  the 
present,  but  the  future,  would  that  single  ordinance  bring  to  both. 
And  must  not  we,  the  lineal  descendants  of  those  to  whom  such 
a  revelation  of  God's  love  was  given,  feel,  to  our  heart's  core, 
that  God  is  indeed  the  God  of  love  which  he  proclaimed  Him- 
self to  Moses  ?  Surely  no  woman  of  Israel  can  fear  to  approach 
Him,  deeming  Him  a  being  too  awfully  holy  to  look  on  such  as 
her,  when  that  unapproachable  holiness  is  veiled  by  such  a  flood 
of  irradiating  love  towards  her  individually,  that  she  is  more 
than  weak,  is  guilty,  if  she  keep  aloof,  and  refuse,  under  the  mis- 
taken plea  of  too  great  unworthiness,  to  clasp  the  mercy  proffered, 
and  fold  its  healing  balsam  to  her  heart.  God  would  not  bid  us 
love  Him,  if  we  were  too  unworthy  so  to  do.  He  would  not  in 
His  every  law.  His  every  promise,  demonstrate  His  compassion- 
ating care.  His  appealing  love,  His  long-suffering  mercy,  did  He 
deem  us  too  unworthy  to  receive  them.  Can  the  flower  that 
gems  the  grass  give  back  the  loving  care  that  there  hath  placed, 
guards,  and  will  renew  it  ?  Can  the  bird  give  back  the  foster- 
ing Jove  which  guards  its  fragile  form,  teaches  the  construction 
of  its  tiny  nest,  and  guards  its  helpless  young  ?  Can  the  insect 
know  and  return  the  Father's  love  that  guards  its  gossamer  life, 
blesses  it  with  acute  sensation,  and  endows  it  with  such  wisdom 
in  the  construction  of  its  web,  nest,  or  cell,  as  to  excite  man's 
envy  ?  Yet,  has  not  the  Eternal  care  for  these  ?  and  will  not 
therefore  all  Nature  confirm  His  precious  word,  and  tell  us  He 
has  equal  care  and'  equal  love  for  us  ?  True,  we  have  sinned — 
we  do  sin — and,  alas  !  will  sin  again,  till  that  blessed  day  when 
the  "  stony  heart  shall  be  replaced  with  a  heart  of  flesh,"  which 
will,  unsullied  by  mortal  frailties,  cleave  unto  the  Lord.  Yet 
Grod  has  given  us  power  to  struggle  with  and  resist  the  evil,  if 


164  THE      WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

we  cannot  in  this  world  wholly  conquer  it.  He  has  told  us, 
that  "  His  ways  are  not  our  ways,"  and,  therefore,  however 
incomprehensible  to  finite  man,  "  in  Him  shall  the  Seed  of 
Israel  be  justified,  and  shall  glory."  He  has  taught  us  in 
infinite  compassion,  what  we  must  do,  and  how  feel,  to  be 
acceptable  in  His  sight ;  not  in  the  law  alone,  for  if  we  study 
only  that  in  our  captivity,  we  shall  be  appalled  by  the  ordinan- 
ces we  cannot  now  perform,  but  in  His  prophets  and  the  Psalms, 
which,  as  rules  of  conduct  and  of  feeling,  will  give  us  all  we 
need. 

As  a  statute  of  the  Israelitish  state,  the  law  we  have  been 
considering  is  no  longer  obeyed  ;  it  cannot  be,  for  w*  are  not 
now  in  our  own  land  ;  but  it  is  the  spirit  of  the  ordinance  which, 
so  nearly  concerns  us,  more  especially  as  women. 

To  recognise  to  its  full  extent  the  distinction  between  the  ways 
of  God  and  the  ways  of  man,  .so  beautifully  displayed  in  this  our 
law,  let  us  think  one  moment  on  the  policy  actuating  leaders  and 
lawgivers  of  more  modern  times,  men  professing  to  be  guided 
by  the  spirit  of  love  and  peace.  Whei'e,  in  feudal  times,  do  we 
find  provision  thus  made  for  the  newly-wedded  ?  A  stigma, 
never  to  be  blotted  out,  would  have  clung  round  the  name  and 
reputation  of  that  man  who  would  not  turn  from  his  home  and 
young  wife,  even  on  his  marriage  day,  at  the  first  rude  call  to 
lawless,  and  often  most  unnecessary  war.  Where  do  we  find 
lawgivers,  princes,  and  nobles,  ever  taking  into  consideration  the 
comfort  and  peace,  we  will  not  even  say  happiness,  of  their 
female  follovvers  ?  Where  were  laws  ever  issued  fur  her,  to 
guard  with  fostering  tenderness  her  gentle  virtues,  her  clinging 
affections,  her  domestic  charms  ?  Where,  save  in  the  law  of  God  ? 
To  attract  attention,  to  win  respect,  to  obtain  protection,  she  was 
vjompelled  to  be  more  great  ih?^\\good,  to  leave  her  natural  sphere, 
and  manifest  fortitude,  bravery,  and  devotedness,  qualities  indeed 
excellent  in  themselves,  but,  as  proved  in  the  middle  ages,  only 
valued  for  their  near  relation  to  the  qualities  of  the  warrior,  and 
departure  from  woman's  ordinary  habits  and  home.  And  by 
what  thousands  of  sutfering  women,  of  all  ages,  must  these  cha- 
racteristics have  been  unattainable,  and  in  consequence  how 
manv  thousands  left  to  all  the  misery  of  deserted  homes,  crushed 
afJections,  and  the  countless  nameless  tortures  borne  by  woman 
in  a  lonely  unprotected  path  ?  And  much  later  than  the  feudal 
times,  a  period  but  very  little  ivmoved  into  the  past, — shall  we 


PERIOD      II.  —  WIVES      OF      ISRAEL.  165 

say  the  horrible  conscription  which  devastated  France,  and  every 
conquered  territory  owning  Buonaparte  as  master,  manifested  that 
care  of  woman,  tliat  tender  sym|>athy  in  her  every  feeling,  which 
we  are  told  is  only  found  with  the  believers  in  the  gospel  ?  We 
must  judge  of  the  divinity  of  laws  by  the  spirit  which,  from  their 
observ.mce,  emanates  over  those  to  whom  they  are  binding. 
The  Jewish  law  is,  on  many  points,  during  our  captivity,  impos- 
sible to  be  observed.  Yet  we  see  the  spirit  of  its  ancient  ordi- 
nances still  guiding  our  homesteads,  impelling  the  gentlest  and 
most  confiding  spirit  towards  woman  in  every  relation  of  life. 
The  Hebrew  may  scarcely  be  conscious  what  actuates  his  tender- 
ness towards  his  wife  and  children,  but  it  comes  from  the  spirit 
of  that  law,  given  to  his  fathers,  in  which  woman  was  marked 
as  the  especial  care  and  protection  of  the  Lord.  The  law,  in  form, 
like  che  human  frame,  may  die  for  a  time,  but  the  spirit  of  the 
ordinances,  like  the  soul  of  the  body,  is  immortal,  and  will  revive 
again  the  shell  from  which  awhile  it  may  have  flown. 

The  law  of  Vows  is  considered  by  some  derogatory  to  the  dig- 
nity of  woman,  by  rendering  her  liable  to  the  will  of  her  husband, 
and  subject  to  his  approval,  even  in  her  devoting  herself  to  her 
God.  We  will  endeavor  to  prove  that  the  supposition  is  mis- 
taken. Equally  acceptable  and  responsible  as  man  in  the  sight 
of  God,  still,  as  we  have  said  before,  "  her  desires  were  to  bow  to 
her  husband."  She  neglected  her  conjugal  duty  if  she  pursued 
any  course,  even  under  the  pretence  of  religious  motives,  con- 
trary to  his  will.  A  singular  vow  demanded  a  voluntary 
relinquishment  of  domestic  duties  and  enjoyments,  to  devote 
herself  in  some  way  to  Ilis  service ;  it  is  generally  supposed  in 
some  employments  of  the  Tabernacle,  or  in  the  service  of  His 
poor,  or  in  the  "  binding  oath  to  afflict  the  soul,"  giving  herself 
up  for  a  certain  time  to  individual  fast  and  prayer.  Now  few 
women  in  Israel,  except  orphaned  single  women,  and  childless 
widows,  could  be  so  independently  situated  as  to  make  and  fol- 
low up  these  vows  without  interfering  with  some  nearer  domes- 
tic duty.  Woman's  sphere  in  the  law  of  God,  without  doubt, 
is  HOME  ;  her  noblest  attraction,  devotedness  to  those  with  whom 
she  is  there  thrown  in  daily  intercourse.  Some  women  there 
are,  who  find  not  only  duty,  but  pleasure  there — not  only  love, 
but  safety.  Others  again,  restless  and  discontented,  fancy  they 
should  be  happier,  and  better,  and  more  useful,  anywhere  but 
where  they  are,  and  gladly  seize  the  first  pretence  to  turn  aside. 


166  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL, 

Spiritual  devotedness  is  too  often  a  worldly  snare,  and  tbe 
pride  of  holiness  the  most  dangerous  temptation  which  can 
possibly  assail  us.  We  have  often  heard  (amongst  the  Gen- 
tiles  indeed,  not  amongst  ourselves,  for  we  have  unha[)pily  too 
few  enthusiasts  of  any  kind)  of  what  is  termed  a  saint  (we  abhor 
the  falsity  of  the  term,  but  we  are  using  now  the  language  of 
the  world).  One  avowedly  devoted  to  the  cause  of  religion  ; 
passing  hours  in  her  closet,  surrounded  by  religious  books,  all, 
we  may  observe,  commentaries^  but  not  the  Word  of  Life 
itself;  or,  with  religious  friends,  wearing  a  peculiar  dress,  and 
most  peculiar  manners  ;  visiting  the  poor,  more  often  with  tracts 
than  food;  censuring  every  innocent  amusement  as  profane,  and 
temptations  of  Satan  ;  bearing  words  of  humility  on  the  lips, 
but  of  pride  in  heart ;  outwardly  condemning  and  abhori'ing 
her  own  sins,  but  inwardly  thanking  God  that  she  is  so  much 
holier  than  others  ;  robing  religion  in  such  dark  and  terrible 
colors,  that  the  young  spirit  shrinks  from  it,  and  plunges  in  the 
world  with  renewed  zest,  to  escape  from  the  faintest  semblance 
of  its  acceptance. 

If  there  be  such,  mistaken  they  certainly  are ;  but  their 
judgment  rests  with  Him  whom  they  seek  after  their  own 
thoughts  to  serve,  not  with  their  brother  man,  who,  without 
sonre  more  true  and  sacred  guide,  might  equally  be  led  astray. 
Wb  have  merely  alluded  to  this  class  of  religious  enthusiasts, 
more  cleaily  to  manifest  the  evil  which  the  law  of  vows  effectu- 
ally excluded,  but  which,  without  such  law,  might,  from  the 
holiness  pervading  God's  people,  have  been  more  than  likely  to 
ensue. 

Man  did  not  need  such  restraint  upon  his  "  singular  vows  ;" 
because,  in  the  first  place,  he  was  more  independent  than 
woman ;  in  the  next,  reason,  not  feeling,  being  his  guide,  he 
was  not  likely  to  fall  into  the  temptation  of  ill-regulated  enthusi- 
asm, even  in  his  holiest  and  dearest  duty.  Woman's  guide  in 
general  is  feeling :  she  is  a  creature  of  impulse,  ever  likely, 
unless  strongly  yet  tenderly  restrained,  to  turn  aside  from  the 
safer  and  less  excitable  path  of  daily  duty,  wherever  the  affec- 
tions or  the  enthusiasm  of  the  moment  may  lead.  More 
especially  is  she  likely  to  fall  into  this  temptation  when  first 
awakened  to  the  claims,  and  beauty,  and  comfort  of  religion. 
The  simple  duties  of  home  then  seem  little  worth,  compared  to 
the  service  of  heaven.     Herself,  her  parents  and  brothers,  bus- 


PERIOD   II. WIVES   OF  ISRAEL,      167 

band  and  children,  appear  of  slender  consequence  compared  to 
the  state  of  her  aftections  and  feith  towards  God.  The  perfect 
compatibility  of  her  duties  towards  God  and  towards  man  is 
unperceived.  She  cannot  realize  that  the  unfatiguinjr,  unex- 
citing duties  of  domestic  usefulness,  infused  with  thoughts  of 
God  and  of  His  word,  is  the  path  most  acceptable  to  Him ; 
and  severing,  instead  of  uniting,  she  neglects  what  she  deems 
the  lesser,  to  pursue  the  greater  duty. 

Many  avenues  were  open  to  the  wives  of  Israel  to  tempt  the 
taking  "  singular  vows."  The  birth  of  children,  the  recovery 
from  illness,  escape  from  danger,  receipt  of  some  unexpected 
blessing,  dread  of  impending  sorrow,  or  misfortune  extraordi- 
narily averted,  and  sin  repented  of,  all  these  might,  in  the  close 
links  which,  when  the  law  was  given,  bound  Israel  to  the  Lord, 
and  in  the  warm  passionate  emotions  of  Eastern  women,  have 
impelled  either  the  vow  of  service,  to  make  manifest  their 
thanksgiving,  or  the  vow  of  affliction  by  fasting  and  prayer,  to 
propitiate  the  Lord  and  turn  away  His  wrath.  And  this  vow 
might  be  taken  in  a  moment  of  strong  feeling,  without  sufficient 
thought  as  to  the  possibihty  of  its  performance,  without  inter- 
fering with  the  comforts  of  her  husband  and  children,  or  her 
duties  to  her  household.  Was  it  not,  then,  just  and  wise,  that 
the  impetuous  feeling  of  woman  should  be  guided  and  tenderly 
restrained  by  the  calmer,  stronger  reason  and  foresight  of  man  ? 

But  that  this  dependence  on  her  husband  in  no  way  subjected 
her  to  his  caprice,  is  proved  by  the  law  which  we  will  extract 
at  length.  "  If  a  woman  shall  vow  a  vow  unto  the  Lord,  and 
bind  herself  by  a  bond And  if  she  had  at  all  a  hus- 
band when  she  vowed  or  uttered  aught  out  of  her  hps  wherewith 
she  bound  her  soul ;  and  her  husband  heard  it,  and  held  his 
peace  at  her  in  the  day  that  he  heard  it,  then  her  vows  shall 
stand,  and  her  bonds  wherewith  she  bound  her  soul  shall  stand. 
But  if  her  husband  disallowed  her  on  the  day  that  he  heard, 
then  he  shall  make  her  vows  which  she  vowed,  and  that  which 
she  uttered  with  her  lips,  wherewith  she  bound  her  soul,  of  none 

effect,  and  the  Lord  shall  forgive  her Every  vow,  and 

every  binding  oath  to  afflict  the  soul,  her  husband  may  establish 
it,  or  her  husband  may  make  it  void.  But  if  her  husband  hold 
his  peace  at  her  from  day  to  day,  then  he  estahlisheth  all  her 
vows,  or  all  her  bonds  which  are  upon  her.  lie  confirmeth 
them,  because  he  held  his  peace  at  her  in  the  day  that  he  heard 


168  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

them.  And  if  he  shall  any  ways  make  them  void,  after  that  he 
hath  heard  them,  then  he  shall  bear  her  iniquity."  (Num- 
bers XXX.  3,  6,  7,  8,  13,  14,  15.) 

We  here  find  most  particular  care  taken  to  shield  woman  from 
that  indecision  and  caprice  from  which  she  is  so  often  the 
innocent  suflerer. 

The  honor,  respect,  and  deference  which  should  characterize 
a  wife's  conduct  and  feelings  towards  her  husband,  are  first 
enforced.  For  the  unperformed  vow,  or  the  breaking  the  vows 
of  the  lips,  the  Lord  will  forgive  her,  because  they  have  been 
disallowed  by  her  husband.  But  they  must  be  disallowed  wAera 
taken.  If  from  indecision,  or  weakness,  or  unkindnes-;,  in  the 
determination  to  thwart  the  wishes  of  his  wife,  he  neither  forbids 
nor  confirms,  but  remains  silent,  that  silence,  in  the  sight  of 
God  and  to  his  wife,  is  confirmation.  He  has  no  power 
capriciously  to  prevent  the  fulfilment  of  her  bond  or  vow  by 
declaring  that  silence  is  not  consent,  and  he  does  not  choose 
that  her  vow  shall  be  performed.  He  cannot  do  this.  His  very 
caprice  is  effectually  prevented,  for,  if  he  acts  thus,  the  woman's 
breach  of  vows  will  indeed  be  forgiven  to  her,  but  he  shall 
BEAR  its  iniquity, — a  law  whose  beautiful  justice  marks  its 
divine  origin  more  forcibly  than  almost  any  other  guiding  the 
conduct  of  husband  and  wife. 

No  human  legislator  could  have  enacted  it,  for  what  lawgiver 
of  earth  could  have  gone  so  deeply  into  the  very  heart  of  man, 
and  guarded  the  domestic  relations  of  life  from  such  petty  yet 
constant  misery  as  caprice  ? 

One  most  consoling  truth  we  learn  by  this  law :  it  is  in  itself 
a  direct  and  positive  refutation  of  the  charge  brought  against 
us,  tliat  Jewish  women  have  no  access  to  God — no  right  what- 
ever to  interfere  with  the  requirements  and  ordinances  of 
religion.  Were  woman  the  creature  of  a  day,  passing  hence  to 
be  no  more,  with  neither  hope  of  reward  nor  liability  to  wrath, 
beyond  this  world,  why  should  she  have  the  power  of  making 
vows  at  all ;  and  so  solemnly,  that  did  man  interfere  with  their 
due  performance,  he  should  bear  her  iniquity,  and  woman — aye, 
the  despised  and  degraded  woman — should  be  forgiven  ? 

The  candid  and  unprejudiced  reader  of  the  word  of  life,  be 
his  faith  what  it  may,  must  perceive  how  mistaken  is  such  a 
charge ;  and  let  not,  then,  our  young  sisters  be  tempted  to  quit 
their  native  fold  for  another,  where  they  are  told  greater  privi- 


PERIOD       II.  WIVES      OF      ISUAEI,  .  KIO 

leges  await  tliem,  both  as  women  and  as  immortal  beings.  Let 
them  not  be  terrified  by  the  charge  that,  as  Jewish  women,  they 
are  soulless  slaves.  But  let  them  come  to  the  word  of  God, 
and  prove  that  there  is  their  shield,  there  \s  their  defence.  That 
there  their  God  Himself  has  revealed  a  love  and  care  for  His 
weaker  childi-en,  too  deeply,  too  nearly,  too  blessedly  for  them 
to  need  aught  else ;  that  there  is  their  hope,  as  there  is  their 
consolation. 

Yet  more  to  protect  his  feebler  creation  from  the  fierce  passions 
and  unjust  accusations  of  Eastern  natures,  the  Most  High,  in  his 
infinite  mercy,  instituted  the  law  of  jealousy,  an  awful  and  most 
terrible  law,  yet  one  which  every  innocent  woman  must  have 
hailed  with  thankfulness,  and  which  every  guilty  woman  must 
have  died  ere  she  could  have  faced.  Tlie  various  sins  prohibited 
by  the  voice  of  God  Himself,  in  His  Ten  Commandments,  are  all 
in  His  sight  of  equal  magnitude,  and,  therefore,  without  any 
reservation  whatever,  were  all  punishable  with  death.  And 
well  ha;:l  it  been  for  the  purity,  virtue,  and  happiness  of  man, 
had  this  blessed  law  continued  in  force  as  it  was  given,  and 
thence  had  emanated  over  the  whole  world.  It  has  been  called 
a  law  of  fire  and  blood,  given  but  to  destroy  and  be  destroyed. 
But  the  charge  is  false.  The  Eternal  knew  the  natures  of  those 
to  whom  it  was  given — that  severity  was  needed  for  the  time ; 
and  had  that  severity  been  used,  and  the  law  literally  and  purely 
OBEVED,  even  as  it  was  intended,  each  generation  would  have 
been  purer  and  more  spiritual  than  the  former,  till  that  holiness 
was  at  length  universally  attained,  which  would  indeed  have 
brought  "  the  days  of  heaven  on  the  earth ;"  and  Israel  would 
not  now  have  been  persecuted  and  tortured  in  some  lands,  and 
an  exile  and  a  wanderer,  houseless  and  piiestless,  in  them  all ! 

Adultery,  even  as  idolatry,  sabbath-breaking,  murder,  &c., 
was  punishable  by  death.  In  Israel,  the  ruthless  spoiler  of  man's 
dearest  shrine — his  home,  sacrificed  not  only  his  honor  (which, 
however  high  sounding,  to  such  characters  must  be  but  a  name), 
not  only  his  standing  and  his  wealth,  but  his  life.  Aye,  and 
not  the  tempter  only,  but  the  wife,  the  mother,  who  could  fling 
misery  upon  a  tortured  husband,  and  undying  shame  upon  her 
helpless  babes.  Yet  amid  a  people  irascible  and  fierce,  too 
liable  to  jealousy  to  examine  calmly  and  justly,  as  we  know  is 
the  case  at  this  very  day  with  every  Eastern  nation,  a  law  was 
imperatively  needed  to  protect  the  helpless  and  innocent,  alike 


170  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

from  false  charges  and  a  husband's  unjust  liate.  No  man  could 
take  justice  into  his  own  hands,  lie  dared  not  injure  the 
reputation,  or  take  the  life  of  his  wife,  without  having"  her  guilt 
proved  by  God  Himself  A  false  accusation  had  no  power  to 
fling  shame  upon  her,  or  render  her  station  doubtful,  as  it  would 
now.  The  Most  High  llimself  interfered  in  her  defence,  and 
proved,  in  the  face  of  the  whole  people,  her  innocence  and 
honor  ;  as,  were  she  guilty,  He  took  into  His  own  hands  her 
punishment,  and  the  manifestation  of  her  guilt. 

The  law  of  jealousy  is  not  in  general  regarded  by  the  women 
of  Israel  as  it  ought  to  be.  False  refinement  shrinks  from  it  as 
a  thing  perfectly  unnecessary  and  antiquated  now.  Nay,  perhaps 
as  a  law  so  horrible,  so  indelicate,  that  they  wondei  that  it  is 
not  expunged  from  the  Bible.  By  us  it  is  welcomed  as  another 
most  consoling  and  unanswerable  proof  of  the  Eternal's  tender 
mercy  towards  us.  The  full  extent  of  its  use  and  justice  can 
only  be  realized  by  contrasting  it  with  the  statutes  of  the  south- 
ern and  eastern  nations,  with  whose  quick  passions  and  excitability, 
Israel,  when  the  law  was  given,  had  more  in  common  than  with 
the  cooler  and  more  dispassioned  north. 

With  the  followers  of  Mahomet  does  not  a  mere  thought,  a 
mere  suspicion,  unaided  by  the  very  shadow  of  proof,  commit 
the  hel[>less  woman  to  a  watery  grave,  with  none  to  interfere  in 
her  behalf,  or  mourn  her  when  at  rest?  None  to  clear  her 
name,  or  bring  the  false  and  cruel  husband  to  justice  and  to 
shame  ?  And  amidst  those  bearing  the  Christian  name,  do  not 
tin  Italian  and  Spaniard  make  as  murderous  use  of  the  stiletto 
or  the  drugged  cup,  as  the  Moslem  of  the  sack  ?  That  such 
misery  is  seldom  heard  of  in  Protestant  countries,  coir,es  not 
from  actual  law,  but  from  that  greater  civilization  and  refinement, 
which  must  spring  from  public  and  private  communion  with  the 
Bible.  This  is  the  safeguard  of  Protestant  women,  and  this 
they  owe  to  the  spirit  of  that  law  given  to  us  by  God  Himself. 
Some  among  the  Gentiles  there  are,  honest  and  spiritual  enough 
to  acknowledge  this  ;  and  from  our  very  heart  we  honor  such 
honest  lovers  of  truth.  But  others,  and  unhappily  the  greater 
number,  there  are  who  fling  shame  and  dishonor  upon  the 
women  of  the  very  people  for  whose  safety  those  blessed  laws 
were  framed,  the  spirit  of  which  is  now  guiding  the  Protestants 
themselves. 

By  contrasting  the  law  vouchsafed  to  us  with  those  guiding 


PERIOD      II. WIVES      OF      ISRAEL.  l7l 

the  Gentiles  of  all  denominations,  we  learn  to  know  the  true 
value  of  the  blessed  fiiith  which  we  possess,  and  are  armed 
agjainst  all  insidious  elforts  to  turn  us  from  it.  But  this  can  never 
be  whilst  the  women  of  Israel  regard  the  laws  of  Moses  only  in 
a  national  and  local,  not  in  an  individual  view,  believing  that, 
because  they  are  no  longer  in  actual  use,  they  only  relate  to 
them  in  their  several  positions  in  Jerusalem,  and  do  not  in  the 
least  concern  them  now. 

They  do  concern  us,  most  nearly  and  most  consolingly.  He 
whose  infinite  mercy  gave  them  has  not  cast  uf  from  His  love, 
though,  for  a  time,  compelled  for  our  sins  to  bear  witness  to  the 
nations  of  His  justice  and  His  wrath.  Yet  for  us,  as  a  people, 
and  each  of  us  individually,  He  bears  the  same  infinite  long- 
suftering  love  which  he  bore  to  our  ancestors  in  Egypt.  We 
learn  this  from  every  prophet,  who  never  spoke  of  sin  without 
holding  forth  forgiveness,  who  never  prophesied  dispersion  and 
banishment  without  comforting  with  the  promise  of  restoration  ; 
and  we  know  the  extent  of  our  Father's  Love  towards  us,  by 
every  statute  of  His  law. 

The  interference  of  the  Most  High  in  cases  similar  to  those 
calling  for  the  law  of  jealousy,  the  wives  of  Israel  may  no  longer 
need :  but  are  there  none  in  minor  circumstances  wrongfully 
accused  ?  None  needing  a  Father  who  knoweth  every  secret 
thought  and  inward  struggle,  to  whom  to  look  when  man  may 
wilfully  wrong,  or  blindly  misappreciate  ?  None  who  struggle 
on  in  the  petty,  but  how  sadly  wearing,  trials  of  daily  life,  to  do 
what  seems  the  best,  to  act  the  kindest,  to  banish  every  throb 
of  self,  and  sacrifice  all  of  individual  comfort  and  enjoyment  to 
further  the  comfort  and  the  wishes  of  another,  yet  finds  her 
every  effort  turned  against  herself,  and  armed  with  acutest  woe? 
In  such  cases,  and  who  shall  say  there  are  none  such,  where  caa 
woman  turn,  but  to  her  God  '^  Where  find  consolation,  save  in 
the  belief  that  her  innocence,  her  efforts,  rest  with  Him,  and  He 
will  one  day  make  them  known  ?  Where  shall  her  heart, 
bleeding  and  toi'n  from  its  earthly  rest,  find  peace,  save  in  His 
love  ?  Oh  !  what  woman  bearing  the  name  of  Israel,  can  hesitate 
one  moment  to  pour  forth  her  every  grief  to  him,  and  feel  she 
is  individually  his  care,  and  He  will  plead  her  cause  ? 

The  express  commands  relating  to  the  marriages  of  the  priests 
is  another  beautiful  proof  of  woman's  perfect  equality  in  Israel, 
and  compatibility  to  be  holy  unto  the  Lord,   by  sharing  the 


172  T  H  K       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL 

holiness  of  liis  elected  servants  ;  a  proof,  also,  that  in  His  service 
the  Eternal  demanded  no  sacrifice  of  human  affections.  They 
were,  indeed,  to  be  sanctified  to  Him,  to  be  infused  with  His 
spirit,  and  so  to  become  a  blessing  and  a  joy  to  His  servants ; 
but  never  to  be  annihilated,  and  so  give  temptation  for  the  most 
awful  abuses  and  crimes,  as  in  the  monastic  seclusions  of  the 
Roman  church.  The  sanctity,  the  purity,  which  was  to  attend 
the  wife  of  the  priest,  -was  a  further  incbntive  to  the  purity  and 
holiness  of  the  women  in  Israel.  Superiority  of  actual  ranks 
there  was  none,  but  superioiity  in  virtue  there  was,  and  to  gain 
that  superiority  was  in  the  power  of  all  women  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  law.  The  priests  were  the  very  highest  and  noblest 
in  the  sight  of  the  people,  being  the  elect  of  the  Lord,  and  the 
ministers  of  His  will.  How  pure,  then,  and  lioly,  must  have 
been  the  ambition  to  become  worthy  of  selection  as  the  priests' 
wives;  and  how  beautifully  is  the  superior  holiness  and  sanctity 
of  the  women  of  Israel  bruuglit  forward  by  the  simple  fact  that 
the  priests  of  the  Lord  might  only  choose  a  wife  from  "  their  own 
people  !" 

It  is  evident,  then,  from  every  law  we  have  regarded,  that, 
instead  of  being  degraded  and  enslaved,  the  wives  in  Israel  were 
peculiarly  and  especially  objects  of  the  Eternal's  love.  For  their 
safety,  their  honor,  those  laws  were  issued,  now  recognised  by 
the  greater  part  of  the  civilized  world  ;  and  all  those  who  deny 
this  shake  the  very  foundations  of  the  whole  system  of  morality, 
urder  whatever  creed  it  may  be  found.  The  Gentile  is  in  very 
truth  "  debtor  to  the  Jew  "  for  far  more  than  he  acknowledges ; 
for  every  law  unconsciously  guiding  and  sanctifying  his  domestic 
relations,  refining  his  own  conduct,  elevating  his  own  mind,  for 
every  law  blessing  his  home  with  a  faithful  wife,  respected 
mother,  and  duteous  child.  That,  therefore,  any  woman  can 
fling  odium  on  the  Jewish  law,  can  only  excite  our  pity  towards 
her.  The  innocence,  honor  and  purity,  and  domestic,  social, 
and  religious  duties  of  wives,  being  more  clearly  and  unanswer- 
ably developed  in  the  sacred  canon  of  the  Mosaic  law  than  in 
any  other,  from  the  very  simple  fact  that  every  other  is  founded 
upon  them. 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOK      WIDOWS.  173 


CHAPTER  IV. 

I,  AWS       RELATING       TO       THE       WIDOWS       AND 
DAUGHTERS       OF       ISRAEL. 

Before  regarding  the  laws  instituted  for  the  widows  of 
Israel,  let  us  pause  cue  moment  on  the  full  tide  of  anguish  and 
uniM-otected  isolation  comprised  to  woman  in  that  one  word 
"  widow,"  that  we  may  comprehend  our  Father's  love  to  the 
full  extent.  What  woman's  heart,  awake  to  kind  and  generous 
feelings,  can  look  upon  a  widow  without  sympathy — without 
the  yearning  prayer  that  consolation  may  be  granted  her,  and 
her  fatherless  babes  find  friends  to  guide  them  through  a 
stormy  world  ?  We  know  no  description  so  thrillingly  power- 
ful of  this,  the  heart's  desolation,  as  the  lines  we  subjoin. 

'•  Lone  sharer  of  a  widowed  lot, 
Where  is  the  language,  though  a  Seraph  hymned 
The  poetry  ot'lieaven,  to  picture'  thee, 
Wrec'-ed  as  thou  art,  whose  life  has  now  become 
Affliction's  martyrdom  ?  for  such  is  love 
Doomed  to  remain  on  desolation's  rock, 
And  look  for  ever  where  the  past  lies  dead 
What  is  the  world  to  thy  benighted  soul  ? 
A  dungeon  !      Save  that  where  thy  children's  tones 
Can  ring  with  gladness  its  sepulchral  gloom. 
Placid  and  cold,  and  spiritually  pale 
Art  thou.     The  lustre  of  thy  youth  is  dimmed, 
Th?  verdure  of  thy  spirit  o'er.     In  vain 
The  beaming  eloquence  of  day  attracts 
Thy  heart's  communion  with  creation's  joy. 
Like  twilight  imaged  on  a  bank  of  snow 
The  smile  that  waneih  o'er  thy  marble  cheek." 

Robert  Montgomery. 

Such,  indeed,  is  the  earthly  sadness  of  the  widow.  One 
with  him  who  has  departed,  how  may  she  tread  the  earth's 
dark  vales  alone  ?  Where  look  for  love  to  supply  the  place  of 
that  now  gone  ?  Where  find  a  father  for  those  babes,  clinging 
to  her  for  that  support,  that  love,  which  in  her  first  bereave- 


1Y4  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

ment  she  feels  utterly  unable  to  bestow  ?  Where  but  in  Him, 
who  in  His  law  so  especially  provides  for  her  and  for  her  father- 
less children;  and,  by -his  prophets,  reinforces  the  statutes 
already  given,  and  brings  forward  their  neglect  as  one  of  the 
manifold  sins  which  called  down  His  displeasure  ? 

We  find  in  his  gracious  word  not  alone  the  command,  but 
the  severe  penalty  attached  to  its  disobedience,  first  in  Exodus 
xxii.  22,  23,  24  :  "  Ye  shall  not  afflict  any  widow  or  fatherless 
child.  If  thou  afflict  them  in  any  wise,  and  they  cry  at  all 
unto  Me,  I  will  surely  hear  their  cry,  and  my  wrath  shall  wax 
hot,  and  I  will  kill  you  with  the  sword ;  and  your  wives  shall 
be  widows,  your  children  fatherless." 

Can  any  language  more  emphatically  and  forcibly  denote  the 
tender  mercy  of  the  Eternal  ?  His  love  made  their  sorrows 
His  own.  As  a  positive  sin  against  Himself,  He  threatened  to 
afflict  all  those  who  dared  afflict  them  by  the  infliction  of  simi- 
lar suffering.  He  knew  that,  left  to  man's  mercy,  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless  would  often  meet  with  oppression,  fraud,  and 
injustice  ;  be  defrauded  of  their  natural  rights,  and  afflicted  by 
hard  creditors.  Not  only  as  a  widow,  called  upon  to  bear 
"  affliction's  martyrdom,"  but  as  a  mother,  to  behold  her  chil- 
dren a  prey  to  suffering  and  want.  In  Israel  this  could  not  be. 
The  widow  and  the  fatherless  were  God's  own,  for  He  knew 
that  not  alone  the  wife,  but  the  mother  must  be  cared  for. 

"  Leave  thy  fatherless  children  to  Me,"  He  said  by  His  pro- 
phet Jeremiah,  at  a  time  when  misery,  desolation,  and  destruc- 
tion were  falling  on  Judea  and  her  sons  for  their  awful  iniquity. 
"  Leave  them  to  Me,  and  I  will  keep  them  alive.  And  let  thy 
widows  trust  in  Me."  Even  then,  when  disobedience  and 
idolatry  had  so  cursed  the  land,  that  His  wrath  could  no  longer 
be  withheld,  He  reitei'ated  the  gracious  promise  given  in  His 
law.  Sunk  into  the  lowest  ebb  of  iniquity,  how  could  the 
widow  and  orphan  be  protected  if  left  to  the  care  of  man  ? 
Where  might  they  look,  at  such  a  season,  but  to  their  God, 
who  for  them  alone  had  mercy  and  long  suffering  still  ? 

The  ruin  and  worldly  misfortunes  and  trials,  so  often  now  the 
portion  of  the  widow,  could  not  exist  in  Israel.  The  nation  at 
large  was  commanded  to  provide  for  them,  and  in  every  feast 
of  offerings  or  of  festivals,  and  in  the  ingathering  of  their  corn, 
and  oil,  and  fruits,  to  include  the  widow  and  the  fatherless ; 
laws  not  once,  but  several  times  repeated.     "  When  thou  cuttest 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOR      WIDOWS.  175 

down  thy  harvest  in  thy  field,  and  hast  forgotten  the  sheaf  in 
tJie  field,  thou  shalt  not  go  again  to  fetch  it,  but  it  shall  be  for 
the  sti'aiiger,  and  the  fatherj.ess,  and  the  widow,  that  the 
Lord  th)  God  may  bless  thee  in  all  the  works  of  thy  hands. 
When  thou  beatest  thy  olive  tree  thou  shalt  not  go  over  the 
boughs  again,  it  shall  be  for  the  stranger,  the  fatherless,  and 
the  WIDOW.  When  thou  gatherest  the  grapes  at  thy  vineyard, 
thou  shalt  not  glean  it  again,  it  shall  be  for  the  stranger,  the 
FATHERLESS,  and  the  widow." 

Nor  was  this  all.  The  tithes  of  wine,  corn,  and  oil,  the  first- 
lings of  herds  and  flocks,  all  of  which  were  devoted  to  the 
service  of  the  Lord,  that  all  worldliness  and  niggardliness  should 
be  banished  from  Israel,  and  "  they  should  learn  to  fear  the 
Lord  their  God  always."  The  feast  of  Weeks  and  of  the  Taber- 
nacles, when  the  families  of  Israel  rejoiced  before  the  Lord  in 
the  place  which  He  chose,  the  widow  and  the  fatherless 
were  included.  There  was  to  be  no  affliction,  no  dependence, 
no  sorrow  in  Israel  (though  the  poor  were  not  to  cease  out  of 
the  land)  at  these  times.  All  were  to  rejoice  before  the  Lord. 
And  yet  more  in  addition  :  "At  the  end  of  three  years  thou 
shalt  bring  forth  all  the  tithe  of  thine  increase  the  same  year, 
and  lay  it  up  within  the  gates.  And  the  Levite,  because  he 
hath  no  part  nor  inheritance  with  thee,  and  the  stranger,  and 
the  fatherless,  and  the  widow,  which  are  within  thy  gates, 
shall  come,  and  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied,  that  the  Lord  thy 
God  may  bless  thee  in  all  the  work  of  thine  hand  which  thou 
doest."  And  so  important  was  obedience  to  this  statute,  that 
its  profession  was  necessary  in  the  confession  of  him  who  came 
to  offer  the  basket  of  first-fruits,  as  a  sign  of  his  having  come 
unto  the  land  of  his  inheritance.  "  Then  shalt  thou  say,"  pro- 
ceeded the  instruction  of  the  priest,  "  before  the  Lord  thy  God, 
I  have  brought  away  the  hallowed  things  out  of  mine  house, 
and  also  have  given  them  to  the  Levite  and  the  stranger,  and 
the  fatherless  and  the  widow,  according  to  all  thy  command- 
ments which  thou  hast  commanded.  I  have  not  transgressed 
thy  commandments,  neither  have  I  forgotten  them"  (Deut. 
xxvi.  12,  13). 

Again,  in  Deut.  xxiv.  17,  it  is  not  enough  that  we  have 
already  heard,  "  thou  shalt  not  afflict  them,"  under  the  awful 
penalty  of  similar  affliction  from  the  hand  of  God,  but  prohibi- 
tion as  to  the  manner  of  that  affliction  is  expressly  pointed  out. 

VOL.   I.  9 


176  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL 

"Thou  slialt  not  pervert  the  judgment  of  the  stranger,  nor  of 
the  FATHERLESS,  nor  take  a  widow's  raiment  to  pledge."  Why? 
Because  they  had  no  earthly  friend  to  redeem  the  latter,  or  plead 
for  the  former.  Weak  and  unguarded,  they  were  exposed  to 
all  these  evils,  had  not  the  Eternal,  in  His  tender  compassion, 
taken  them  under  His  own  especial  care ;  and,  instead  of  com- 
pelling them  to  depend  on  the  insecure  tenure  of  man's  com- 
passion, or  even  justice,  instituting  laws  for  their  benefit,  the 
disobedience  of  which  was  sin  unto  Himself. 

Had  these  laws  been  obeyed,  it  was  impossible  for  the  widow 
and  the  fatherless,  however  destitute  they  might  have  been  left, 
to  sutler  mere  worldly  ills.  The  agony  of  the  widowed  wife 
could  not  be  increased  by  the  thought  of  how  she  was  to  pro- 
vide for  her  fatherless  little  ones.  The  Lord  was  their  guardian, 
and  He  gave  her  and  her  children  the  gentle  care  and  affection 
of  their  brethren  in  Israel;  bidding  her  cry  unto  Him  in  sorrow 
or  affliction,  for  He  would  assuredly  hear  her  cry,  and  punish 
those  who  called  it  forth. 

What  nation,  then,  what  code,  however  just,  however  perfect, 
ever  framed  such  laws  as  these  ?  "  What  nation,"  in  truth, 
"  has  God  so  near  to  them  as  Israel  in  all  we  call  upon 
Him  for  ?"  Were  no  other  laws  relative  to  woman  instituted, 
these  alone  would  be  sufficient  to  mark  that  their  very  weakness 
rendered  them  objects,  even  more  than  man,  of  compassion  and 
love ;  for  where  has  God  provided  for  man  as  for  woman  in  the 
desolation  of  her  widowhood  ? 

That  modern  Judaism  cannot  obey  these  laws  now,  as 
when  they  were  given,  interferes  not  with  the  fact  of  their 
institution  itself  Thi,  ver  r  charge,  reiterated,  enforced  as  it 
is,  elevates  woman,  and  excites  towards  her,  not  alone  the 
humanity  and  tenderness,  but  the  res2')ect  of  man.  How  could 
he  feel  otherwise  towards  those  whom  God  Himself  has  pro- 
mised to  protect  ?  What  stronger  incentive  could  he  have  to 
be  forbearing  and  gentle  towards  her,  and  in  no  way  to  afflict 
her,  than  that  if  he  failed  in  kindness,  his  wife  should  be 
widowed,  his  children  fatherless  ?  Where  shall  we  find  a 
law  to  disannul  this,  proceeding,  as  it  does,  from  the  mouth 
of  God  ? 

To  the  women  of  Israel,  at  the  present  day,  how  inexpressibly 
consoling  are  these  laws  !  In  form  they  can  no  longer  be 
obeyed ;  but,  as  in  the  case  of  the  statutes  relating  to  wives,  it 


l-  E  R  I  O  D       II. I.  A  W  S       1'  O  U       W  I  H  ()  W  S  .  l77 

IS  the  spirit  pervading  them  which  we  must  take  to  our  hearts, 
till  they  swell  in  grateful  thankfulness  to  Him  who  from  Ilic 
throne  in  heaven  condescends  to  make  widows  His  especial 
care.  And  He  does  so  now  as  then.  God  is  immutable — a 
Spirit  of  Truth,  knowing  not  the  shadow  of  a  change  ;  and, 
therefore,  do  we  know  and  feel  that  the  same  love  from  which 
issued  those  beautiful  laws,  actuates  His  dealings  with  his 
people  now.  It  is  vain,  utterly  vain,  to  say  we  are  cast  off, 
and,  therefore,  cannot  claim  it.  The  Bible  teems  with  passages 
relating  to  our  banishment  alone,  and  to  the  Eternal's  deep  love 
borne  towards  us  while  in  captivity,  and,  consequently,  towards 
us  now.  We  could  multiply  passages  on  passages,  from  the 
Pentateuch,  Psalms,  and  Prophets,  to  prove  this.  But  the  very 
words  already  quoted  from  Jeremiah  would  be  almost  sufficient. 
When  they  were  pronounced,  the  sins  of  Jerusalem  were  far 
more  heinous  than  those  of  Israel  in  her  captivity.  Yet  even 
then  God  took  the  fatherless  and  the  widow  under  His  fostering 
care  ;  separating  them  for  the  innocence  of  the  one,  and  the 
unprotected  weakness  of  the  other,  from  the  mass  of  iniquity 
which  desecrated  Judea. 

As  concerns  His  compassion  towards  us  now,  we  shall  find 
them  so  distinctly,  so  clearly  enforced  in  Leviticus  xxiv., 
particularly  from  verse  40  to  the  end,  and  in  the  whole  of 
Deuteronomy  xxx.,  that  to  doubt  and  keep  back,  from  a  suppo- 
sition of  our  inability  to  approach  our  God,  and  claim  His  love 
in  our  captivity,  becomes  actual  guilt,  and  is  likely  not  only  to 
throw  a  wider  and  wider  barrier  between  Him  and  ourselves, 
but  to  expose  us  more  dangerously  than  any  other  temptation 
to  the  sophisms  of  the  Nazarene,  who,  in  mistaken  kindness, 
would  terrify  us  from  our  sole  rock  of  refuge  and  strength,  by  insist- 
ing that,  cast  out  from  the  Lord's  favor  as  we  are,  nothing  can 
save  us  from  eternal  perdition  but  the  acceptance  of*  their  faith. 
The  more  solid  sense  and  unimpassioned  reason  of  man  may, 
and  do,  effectually  guard  him  from  such  danger ;  but  woman's 
quicker  feehug  and  more  easily  blinded  judgment  need  all  the 
defence  and  rest  in  a  divine  love  which  the  study  of  her  own 
faith,  and  its  manifold  manifestations  of  the  Eternal  as  a  God 
of  truth  and  love,  alone  can  give.  No  argument  is  more  likely 
to  weigh  with  a  strong-feeling,  unguarded  woman,  knowing 
little  or  nothing  but  the  mere  formula  of  her  own  religion,  than 
-he  idea,  if  pressed  at  a  right  moment,  that  the  law  of  Moses  il 


lY8  T  H  K       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

a  law  of  fire  and  blood,  given  only  to  destroy,  and  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  is  one  of  love;  that  Jewish  women  can  have 
no  comfort  in  adversity,  but  that  as  Christians  they  will  find  all 
they  need ;  that  in  the  one  Faith  they  must  feel  themselves 
degraded,  as  in  the  other  exalted  and  secure. 

Now,  without  aflFecting  actual  creed  at  all,  temptations  like 
these,  unless  fully  and  faithfully  convinced  that  we,  as  women 
of  Israel,  have  privileges  still  higher,  must  on  some  dispositions 
fall  with  sufficient  weight  as  so  to  confuse  and  entangle,  that 
even  belief  is  adopted  ere  we  are  at  all  aware  of  what  we  are 
about.  We  allude  not  to  those  whom  reason  only  guides — 
who,  cold,  unimaginative,  passionless  themselves,  laugh  at  feel- 
ing, because  they  know  it  not — who  find  philosophy  always 
sufficient  for  their  need.  But  the  larger  portion  of  women,  crea- 
tures of  mere  feeling  and  impulse,  we  would  beseech  to  come 
to  the  Word  of  God,  and  derive  thence,  in  the  days  of  youth 
and  happiness,  that  peace,  love,  and  consolation,  which  if 
unknown  till  "  the  evil  days  come,  and  the  years  when  thou 
shalt  say,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  them,"  may  be  sought,  from 
very  blindness  and  wilfulness,  in  a  stranger  fold.  The  argu- 
ments we  have  quoted  would  fall  to  the  ground  by  the  simple 
answer,  that  as  women  of  Israel,  we  have  all  we  need ;  that 
God  revealed  His  deep  love  to  us  ages  before  He  became  known 
to  our  Gentile  sisters  ;  that  while  we  possess  His  blessed  Word, 
we  can  never  feel  too  unworthy  to  claim  the  tenderness  he  so 
proffers.  He  Himself  has  given  us  privileges  in  every  relation 
and  position  in  life  which  no  other  nation  has,  except  as  derived 
from  us,  and  that,  instead  of  fire  and  blood,  the  whole  Jewish 
law  to  woman  teems  with  love. 

These  feelings,  inculcated  in  childhood,  felt  and  experienced 
in  riper  years,  will  be  sufficient  for  woman,  and  enable  her  to 
realize  all  the  blessed  consolation  which  every  law  relating 
to  her  so  spiritually  bestows.  Not  to  widows  only,  but  to  all 
who  are  in  affliction,  the  Divine  spirit  infusing  every  law  vnist 
bring  comfort,  by  evincing  how  closely,  how  consolingly,  she  is 
drawn  to  God. 

Can  the  widpw  and  the  fatherless  in  Israel  recall  this  truth, 
yet  not  bless  God  that  the  record  of  His  law  is  still  our  own, 
granted  that  in  times  of  dispersion  and  banishment  we  might 
not  despair,  even  though  the  form  of  the  law  must  be,  till  our 
restoration,  at  an  end  ?     Oh,   let  the  afflicted  take   comfort ! 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOR      WIDOWS.  lYS 

She  has  but  to  believe  and  obey,  and  the  deep  compassion  of 
her  God  will  perfect  both,  and  render  them  acceptable.  Let 
her  but  think  on  the  magnitude  of  that  love  which  has  pro- 
vided for  her  both  as  widow  and  mother.  That  by  name  she  is 
singled  out  as  especially  the  object  of  Divine  solicitude,  and, 
therefore,  that  the  Eternal  knew  and  knows  the  heaviness  of 
her  trial,  the  extent  of  her  deep  sorrow,  the  pressure  of  her  cares. 
Let  her  recall  every  law  given  for  the  widow  and  the  fatherless, 
and  remember  that  He  who  gave  them  knows  not  the  shadow 
of  a  change,  and,  therefore,  feels  for  her  now  as  tenderly  as  He 
did  for  her  ancestors  of  old.  What  is  time  to  Him  ?  We 
luok  back  with  our  finite  gaze,  and  think  there  is  such  a  wide 
distinction  between  past  and  present,  that  the  laws  given  for 
the  one  can  in  no  way  concern  the  other.  Customs,  manners, 
all  of  earth  may  change,  but  not  the  nature  of  the  immortal 
soul,  nor  of  the  human  heart.  From  the  beginning  of  the 
world,  until  the  end,  these  loere^  are,  and  tvill  be  the  same. 
And  so  is  He  from  whom  they  spring,  and  who  guides  and 
cares  for  them  now  as  when  He  first  grafted  them  into  man. 
What,  then,  is  time  to  Him  ?  Can  frail  finite  humanity  believe 
that  tijne  has  changed  His  tenderness  towards  His  afflicted 
children  ?  Oh  !  who  would  throw  such  scorn,  such  disrespect 
on  that  word  which  repeats  and  enforces  in  every  manner  of 
expression,  "  I,  even  I,  am  He,  that  changeth  not ;  therefore  ye 
sons  o^  Israel  are  not  consumed  ?  "  Let  the  widows  of  Israel 
take  to  their  hearts  every  law  which  manifests  His  love  towards 
them  as  widows.  They  are  as  much  theirs  now  as  at  the 
moment  they  were  given.  Let  them  not  believe,  for  a  single 
moment,  that  the  superior  holiness  of  their  ancestors  gave  them 
greater  favor  in  the  sight  of  their  God.  He  saith,  "  Not  for 
your  own  sakes  will  I  do  this,  O  Israel,  for  ye  are  a  perverse 
and  rebellious  generation,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  covenant  I 
swore  unto  your  fathers,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob."  And 
again,  in  strong  confirmation,  "  For  mine  own  sake,  even  for 
mine  own  sake,  will  1  do  it ;  for  how  should  my  name  be  pol- 
luted :  and  I  will  not  give  my  glory  to  another."  (Isaiah 
xlviii.)  With  such  words  how  may  we  hesitate  ?  Come  unto 
Him,  ye  widows  of  Israel,  /or  ye  are  His.  Clasp  to  your 
hearts  His  love.*  Think  not  ye  can  weary  it,  for  "God  is  not 
man,  that  He  should  he,  nor  the  son  of  man  that  he  should 
repent."     Let  no  thought  of  unworthiness  keep  us  back,  for  not 


180  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

in  our  own  righteousness,  but  in  His,  must  we  trust.  And  oh. 
believe  in  Him,  trust  in  Him  ;  and,  as  the  widows  of  old,  in 
our  very  affliction  we  shall  be  comforted,  and  to  the  Gentiles 
show  forth  His  glory. 

Our  next  section,  the  Daughters  of  Israel,  while  it  principally 
relates  to  the  duties  of  our  younger  sisters  as  inferred  from  the 
laws  concerning  tliem,  also  brings  much  important  matter  to 
light,  regarding  the  equality  of  women. 

In  every  command  and  ordinance  relative  to  obedience  to 
parents,  to  the  eating  of  holy  things  (Levit.  xi.  14;  Deut.  xii. 
and  xvi.),  to  appearing  and  rejoicing  at  the  various  festivals 
(Deut.  xvi.),  daughters,  equally  with  the  sons,  are  so  emphati- 
cally specified,  that  it  is  impossible  to  believe  that  the  religious 
as  well  a-s  the  moral  duties  of  the  law  are  not  equally  incumbent 
on  ivoman  as  well  as  man.  It  is  useless  to  transcribe  the  verses 
which  point  this  out,  as  they  will  be  found,  in  their  own  simple 
force  of  expression,  in  the  chapters  of  the  Lord's  own  Word 
quoted  above.  Were  the  maidens  of  Israel  to  keep  aloof  from 
all  religious  observances,  to  be  bound  to  household  duties  and 
frivolous  employments,  become  authorized  to  leave  all  the  con- 
cerns of  an  immortal  soul  and  of  eternity  to  the  care  of  fathers, 
husbands,  or  brothers,  we  should  find  no  mention  of  such  a  class 
of  beings.  Nay,  had  the  Eternal  even  intended  that  their  fitness 
or  unfitness  for  His  service  should  depend  on  the  judgment  of 
man,  we  should  still  find  only  the  sons  mentioned.  But  to 
remove  this  entirely,  the  attendance  of  the  maidens  of  Israel  at 
every  rejoicing,  etc.,  becomes  an  absolute  command  from  God, 
and  its  disobedience,  neglect,  or  change,  was  sin  against  Him- 
self. Such  laws  as  those  of  Mezuzzot  or  Tephilim  were  given 
in  an  indeterminate  manner,  requiring  the  aid  of  the  priest  to 
decide  who  should  wear  the  latter,  and  how  use  the  former ; 
but  the  obedience  of  the  daughters  of  Israel,  with  their  brothers, 
unto  every  ordinance,  is  so  clearly  and  simply  put,  that  the 
mind  must  indeed  be  perverted  who  would  seek  to  deprive  them 
of  such  blessed  privileges,  and  insist  that  religion  is  too  deep  a 
thing  for  woman. 

God  bade  woman  as  well  as  man  love  Him  with  heart,  and 
soul,  and  might ;  knowing  that  to  all  who  did  so,  the  compre- 
hension of  His  will.  His  attributes,  was  comparatively  easy,  and 
obedience  to  His  every  statute  a  labor  of  rejoicing" and  love.    To 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOR      DAUGHTERS.       181 

learn  and  to  feel  this  in  youth,  woman,  equally  with  man,  must 
be  taught  to  know  and  love  tlie  Lord,  not  left  to  the  mere  prac- 
tice of  forms  ;  must  be  taught,  that  to  appear  at  His  festivals,  to 
keep  llis  ordinances,  to  obey  Ilis  commandments,  are  privileges 
of  joy,  granted  to  them  in  the  fulness  of  God's  love,  and  mark 
the  distinction  between  His  rule  and  that  of  every  other.  They 
would  be  led  to  corni>are  their  station  and  their  privileges  as 
maidens  of  Israel,  with  those  of  the  women  of  Greece  and  Rome, 
and  every  contemporary  nation,  and,  in  more  modern  times, 
with  the  women  of  many  a  Gentile  land.  Civilization,  and  a 
study  and  practice  of  the  moral  laws  of  the  Bible,  are  doing 
their  work,  and  pervading  the  customs  and  feelings  of  the  Naza- 
rene  world ;  but  their  guiding  law  breathes  not  the  Eternal's 
especial  care  for  woman,  in  her  every  relation  of  life,  more  for- 
cibly than  ours  does. 

That  the  daughters  of  Israel  must  have  had  the  power  to 
obtain  influence  over  their  fathers,  even  to  persuade  them  to 
evil,  is  proved  by  their  being  specially  named  in  the  law  already 
quoted,  regarding  the  punishment  of  all  those,  be  they  brother, 
son,  DAUGHTER,  wife,  or  friend,  who  enticed  to  idolatry. 

Again,  we  are  told  in  Deut.  vii.  2,  4,  alluding  to  the  care 
needed  to  preserve  the  Israelites  a  holy  people,  and  prevent  all 
communion  with  the  idolatrous  nations  around  :  "  Thou  shalt 
make  no  covenant  with  them,  nor  show  mercy  to  them  ;  neither 
shalt  thou  make  marriages  with  them  ;  thy  daughter  thou 
shalt  not  give  unto  his  son,  nor  his  daughter  shalt  thou  take 
unto  thj  son.  For  they  will  turn  away  thy  sou  from  following 
me,  that  they  may  serve  other  Gods,  etc.  For  thou  art  an  holy 
people  unto  the  Lord  thy  God.  The  Lord  thy  God  hath  chosen 
thee  to  be  a  special  people  unto  Himself,  above  all  the  people 
that  are  upon  the  face  of  the  earth." 

"  Son,"  in  the  sentence  "  for  they  will  turn  away  thy  son," 
etc.,  evidently  signifies  both  son  and  daughter,  as  both  are  spe- 
cifically named  in  the  preceding  verse,  and<the  Hebrew  word  1?., 
though  always  translated  son,  is  equivalent  to  the  English  noun 
child,  for  which  there  is  no  distinct  Hebrew  term.  "  Children 
of  Israel,"  is  written  in  Hebrew  exactly  as  if  it  were  translated, 
"  sons  of  Israel"  (^5**^''^''?  '^■jr'),  but  it  evidently  and  unanswer- 
ably includes  both  sexes,  by  the  words  already  quoted : 
"  Gather  the  people  together,  meu,  women,  and  children,"  and 
other  verses  of  similar  import.     As  Israel  had  been  already 


182  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL, 

warned  against  giving  liis  daughter  in  marriage  to  a  son  of 
Canaan,  she  is,  of  course,  included  in  the  danger  thence  ensu- 
ing, although  only  "  son"  is  mentioned  ;  the  plural  meaning  of 
that  "  son"  being  evident  from  the  pronoun  following  it  being 
they  instead  of  he.  "  For  they  will  turn  aside  thy  child  from 
following  ME,  that  they  may  serve  other  gods." 

Now  if  nothing  depended  on  women  in  Israel  to  uphold  and 
make  manifest  the  glory  of  their  God,  in  obedience  to  His  law 
and  in  serving  Him,  what  necessity  was  there  for  this  law  ?  If 
her  soul  was  of  less  moment  than  that  of  man,  why  should  it 
have  been  so  carefully  guarded  from  pollution  ?  This  law  of 
itself  would  be  sufficient  to  prove  to  the  daughters  of  Israel  their 
solemn  responsibility,  not  only  individually,  but  nationalk/ ; 
and  we  shall  find  still  more. 

In  Numbers  xxvii.,  we  read  that  the  daughters  of  Zelophehad 
eame  "  before  Moses,  and  all  the  princes  of  the  congregation," 
and,  boldly  stating  the  death  of  their  father  without  sons, 
inquired,  "why  should  the  name  of  our  father  be  done  away 
from  among  his  family  because  he  had  no  sons  ?  Give  us, 
therefore,"  they  continued,  "  a  possession  among  the  brethren 
of  our  fathers.  And  Moses  brought  their  cause  before  the 
Lord.  And  the  Lord  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  The  daughters 
of  Zelophehad  speak  right.  Thou  shalt  surely  give  them  a 
possession  of  an  inheritance  among  their  father's  brethren,  and 
thou  shalt  cause  the  inheritance  of  their  father  to  pass  unto 
them.  And  thou  shalt  speak  unto  the  children  of  Israel,  saying 
If  a  man  die,  and  have  no  son,  then  shall  ye  cause  his  inherit- 
ance to  pass  unto  his  daughter." 

Now  this  simple  narration  very  clearly  proves  that  the  civil, 
as  well  as  religious  privileges  were  protected  and  insured.  Here 
are  five  unmarried  women,  most  probably  young,  and  acting  on 
no  guidance  but  their  own  sense  of  right  and  justice,  as  incul- 
cated by  the  whole  law  of  Moses,  unhesitatingly  addressing  their 
great  Lawgiver,  in  presence  of  all  the  heads  of  Israel,  and  fear- 
lessly stating  their  case.  ■  Their  position  must  have  been  one  of 
perfect  freedom,  or  they  could  not  so  have  sought  Moses,  and 
not  only  been  heard,  but,  because  he  did  not  feel  himself  ade- 
quate to  pronounce  a  decision  on  a  case  never  before  occurring, 
tbeir-cause  was  brought  by  him  before  the  Lord,  and  God  Him- 
self deigned  to  reply.     They  had  spoken  right,  the  Eternal  said ; 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOR      DAUGHTERS.    183 

the  inheritance  should  be  as  they  said,  not  only  to  them,  but 
ever  after,  as  a  law  in  Israel. 

We  see  here,  not  only  the  daughters  of  Israel  protected  and 
established  in  their  birthrights,  but  the  practical  illustration  of 
the  Eternal's  gracious  promise  repeated  in  Deut.  x.  17,  18,  "  For 
the  Lord  your  God  is  a  God  of  gods  and  Lord  of  lords,  a  mighty 
and  a  terrible,  who  regardeth  not  persons,  nor  taketh  reward, 
but  does  execute  the  judgment  of  the  fatherless  and  the 
widow."  The  daughters  of  Zelophehad  were  fatherless  ;  per- 
chance (for  such  is  human  nature),  surrounded  by  those  who 
disputed  their  right,  deeming  that  woman  could  have  no  civil 
privileges  ;  compelled  to  do  violence  to  their  feminine  nature, 
and  make  an  appeal ;  whereupon  God,  not  man,  took  their  judg- 
ment in  His  own  hands  and  gave  them  right.  The  supposition 
of  their  having  to  encounter  human  opposition,  is  further  con- 
firmed by  the  event  of  the  thirty-sixth  chapter  of  Numbers. 
The  chief  fathers  of  the  tribe  of  Manasseh,  to  which  Zelephehad 
belonged,  came  before  Moses  and  the  heads  of  Israel,  stating 
the  inconvenience  of  female  inheritance,  as  being  likely  to  be  lost 
by  marriage  with  some  other  tribe  ;  and  in  the  jubilee,  when 
every  man  returned  to  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers,  the  portion 
inherited  b}'  daughters  would  be  amalgamated  with  the  inherit- 
ance of  the  tribe  whereunto  they  were  received.  This  difficulty, 
to  mere  human  reasoning,  would  have  seemed  so  to  interfere 
with  the  statute  already  given,  that  man  would  have  been  at  a 
loss  how  to  overcome  it.  But  that  which  God  has  once  said, 
He  altereth  not;  and  lie  bade  Moses  inform  the  children  of 
Israel,  that  "  the  tribe  of  the  sons  of  Joseph  had  said  well.  This 
is  the  thing  which  the  Lord  doth  command  concerning  the 
daughters  of  Zeloph«bad,  saying,  Let  them  marry  to  whom 
THEY  THINK  BEST ;  ouly  to  the  tribe  of  the  family  of  their  father 
shall  they  irarry.  And  every  daughter  that  possesseth  an  in- 
heritance in  any  tribe  of  the  children  of  Israel,  shall  be  wife  unto 
one  of  the  families  of  the  tribe  of  her  father,  that  the  children  of 
Israel  may  enjoy  every  man  the  inheritance  of  his  fathers." 

Even  in  this  law,  so  important  for  the  peace  and  harmony  of 
the  tribes  of  Israel,  the  Eternal  disdained  not  to  caij|  also  for 
the  temporal  happiness  of  His  weaker  children,  by  expressly 
stating,  that  their  choice  was  to  be  vhom  they  think  best ; 
bounded,  indeed,  by  the  tribe  of  their  father,  amongst  whom  as 
they  principally  associated  it  was  most  natural  their  choice 

9* 


184  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

should  fall.  No  arbitrary  law  interfered  with  domestic  happi* 
tiess.  Neither  consanguinity,  fortune,  nor  any  of  the  modern 
reasons,  impelling  unions  of  convenience,  of  ambition,  or  of  any 
kind  but  of  the  lieart,  interfered  with  woman's  own  choice  of 
happiness.  Heiress  in  her  own  right,  with  none  daring  to  in- 
terfere with  the  judgment  of  God  Himself,  she  might  select 
whom  she  thought  best  to  share  the  possessions  accorded  to 
her.  No  human  judgment,  no  thought  of  man,  would  have  so 
cared  for  woman.  The  law,  indeed,  might  have  been  given,  but 
those  impressive  words,  "Let  them  marry  whom  they  think 
best,"  speak  but  of  the  omniscient  care  and  infinite  love  of  God. 

The  law  of  vows  we  have  already  enlarged  upon  in  our  second 
section,  the  wives  of  Israel ;  yet,  as  its  ordinance  concerns  the 
daughters  of  Israel  also,  we  must  briefly  recur  to  it.  The  nature 
of  those  vows,  and  in  what  manner  they  are  liable  to  abuse,  we 
have  already  seen.  A  daughter  might,  perhaps,  more  easily 
than  a  wife,  devote  herself  by  a  singular  vow  to  the  service  of 
the  Lord,  but  more  easily  also  be  led  into  its  abuse.  A  young 
woman  (for  it  is  to  such  the  laws  refer — see  Numbers  xxx.  16), 
while  in  her  father's  house,  performs  her  duty  to  her  God,  and 
proves  her  zeal  in  His  service  to  greatest  perfection,  while  evinc- 
ing her  obedience  to  the  fifth  commandment,  and  devoting 
herself  as  much  as  possible  to  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  her 
parents,  and  to  all  the  unobtrusive  claims  of  home.  This,  as 
we  have  said  before,  is  often  neglected  during  the  early  enthu- 
siasm of  first  religious  impressions,  and  the  wish  to  do  some- 
thing great  and  striking,  to  "evince  the  fervor  of  her  professions, 
occupies  the  mind  to  the  exclusion  of  all  else.  This,  in  Israel, 
is  effectually  guarded  against,  by  rendering  the  daughter  de- 
pendent in  some  measure  on  the  will  of  her  father,  and  by  so 
doing  increasing  the  veneration,  love,  and  submission,  which, 
did  she  obey  the  fifth  commandment,  she  could  not  fail  to  bear 
him,  at  the  same  time  guarded,  like  the  wife  in  Israel,  from  all 
capriciousness  or  indecision,  and  the  petty  trials  thence  pro- 
ceeding. 

That  she  had  the  power,  even  when  in  her  youth  in  her 
fether's  kouse,  of  devoting  herself  by  a  vow  unto  the  Lord, 
clearly  evmces  that  even  young  women  had  access  to  the  Eter- 
nal, and  their  prayers  and  service  were  graciously  accepted  by 
Him,  without  any  interference  of  man. 

This  is  the  spirit  of  the  law  concerning  us  most  nearly  now, 


PERIOD       II. L  A  W  a       T.  o  R      i:   A   U  ij   11    1    K  n  s  .     ]  85 

and  which  every  young  daughter  in  Israel  sliould  lovingly 
remember,  that  young,  lowly,  weak  as  she  is,  and  dependent  as 
she  may  be,  she  has  yet  the  glorious  privilege  of  devoting  her- 
self to  the  service  of  her  God.  No  longer,  indeed,  by  a  singular 
vow,  calling  upon  her  to  depart  from  home  duties,  and  aftections, 
for  outward  service,  nor  by  a  binding  oath  to  afflict  the  soul  by 
departure  from  her  usual  food  and  innocent  amusements,  but 
simply  by  associating  the  love  of  God  and  hope  of  His  approval 
with  all  her  thoughts,  and  the  meek  and  unpretending  effort  to 
make  manifest  spirituality  and  holiness  in  every  action,  every 
trial,  every  blessing  of  her  life.  This  will  be  less  difficult  to 
accomplish  if  she  do  but  study,  heartfully  and  prayerfully,  His 
precious  word,  and  read  there,  borne  out  by  the  whole  beautiful 
world  of  nature,  the  blessed  record  of  God's  unfaihng  love ;  if 
she  will  but  persevere  in  trust  and  prayer,  and  not  despair  if 
many  many  times  she  turns  seemingly  unanswered  from  the 
"Fount  of  living  waters,  and  her  earthly  nature  tempt  her  to  put 
her  whole  trust  in  "  cisterns,  broken  cisterns  that  will  hold  no 
water."  This  was  Israel's  sin,  which,  more  powerfully  than  any 
other,  at  length  hurled  on  her  the  Eternal's  long-averted  wrath  ; 
and,  knowing  this,  we  shall  sin  threefold  now  if  we  sti'ain  not 
every  nerve  to  resist  all  such  specious  coloring  of  earth,  and 
cleave  under  every  difficulty,  spite  of  disappointment,  of  despond- 
ency, of  doubt,  unwaveringly  to  the  Lord. 

But  let  not  the  young  daughter  of  Israel,  rejoicing  in  her  fond 
enthusiasm  that  she  is  so  specially  designated  in  His  law, 
believe  that  to  do  His  work  is  easy  and  all  joy,  as  at  ^'st  it 
seems.  There  must  come  a  time,  if  she  truly  seek  and  pray  to 
love  Him,  that  He  will  try  that  love  ;  not,  it  may  be,  with  the 
afflictions  publicly  acknowledged  as  such,  but  with  the  coldness, 
deadness,  utter  stagnation  of  the  spirit,  as  if  all  of  religion,  or 
even  inte\3st  in  religious  things,  had  entirely  departed.  "Biis 
is  the  most  fearful  period  in  the  religious  experience  of  the 
young.  They  doubt  every  feeling  of  piety  which  had  been 
theirs  before.  They  mentally  ask,  why  should  they  be  different 
to  their  more  worldly  comjianions,  who  are  ever  happy,  ever 
gay  ?  Why  should  they  voluntarily  resign  such  pleasures  for  a 
service  that,  instead  of  bringing  comTort,  does  but  make  them 
miserable  ?  Were  they  not  over  presumptuous  to  have  supposed 
for  a  moment  that  God  could  care  for  such  as  they,  and  would 
it  not  be  wiser  and  better  to  join  the  multitude,  who,  living  but 


1 86  T  H  K      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

for  earth  and  time,  never  cast  a  thought  on  heaven  and  eternity ; 
for  to  whom  can  they  express  feelings  so  impossible  to  be 
beheved  or  understood  ? 

Oh !  let  not  such  periods  of  trial  turn  the  daughter  of  Israel 
from  that  better  path  which  an  earlier  age  has  chosen.  Come 
indeed  they  must^  for  God  thus  tries  the  extent  of  His  children's 
love.  The  truly,  sincerely,  spiritually  religious  of  every  creed, 
of  every  class,  have  experienced  all  that  they  may  feel.  It  is 
the  dread  "  phantom  of  the  threshold,"  which  must  be  resisted 
by  its  only  all-subduing  foe — that  faith  which  can  ascend  on 
the  wings  of  prayer,  and  trust  in  God  to  give  comfort,  hope, 
and  joy.  It  is  no  proof  of  superior  holiness,  of  more  rapid 
advancement  in  the  one  straight  path,  where  these  emotions  are 
unknown.  It  is  rather  an  unanswerable  evidence  that  the  spirit 
yet  sleeps,  unawakened  to  its  weakness,  its  dependence.  It  does 
not  yet  know  the  workings  of  the  Lord  within  ;  or  that  its 
fancied  strength  may  be  broken  as  a  reed.  Oh!  let  not  the' 
young  daughter  of  Israel,  when  bowed  and  sorrowing  beneath 
the  strange  despondency  of  heart  and  thought,  envy  these. 
God  hath  not  departed  from  her.  He  doth  but  try  the  strength 
of  her  faith  and  love.  If  comfort,  if  spiritual  joy  always  attended 
on  religious  service,  where  would  be  that  necessity  for  faithful- 
ness and  constancy  ?  Where  the  trial  of  love,  if  ever  coupled 
with  reward  ?  Where  its  strength,  its  durability,  if  the  first 
moment  the  object  of  its  aspirings  appear  to  forsake,  to  darken 
His  countenance  towards  them,  it  takes  wing  to  some  more 
rewarding  god  ?  Would  we  love  a  mortal  thus  ?  And  shall 
we  do  less  for  God,  who^e  love  we  know  to  be  so  unending,  so 
infinite,  so  exhaustless,  and  who  never  in  reality  withdraws  it, 
though  to  try  us  He  permits  the  human  infirmities  of  frame  to 
produce  the  darkness  under  which  we  pine  ? 

^ould  we,  in  truth,  follow  the  example  of  our  ancestors,  and 
devote  ourselves  to  our  God,  we  must  endure  this  meekly  and 
trustingly,  as  we  would  any  more  tangible  evil,  or  more  visible 
affliction.  And  even  when  this  is  removed,  through  His  loving 
mercy,  and  again  our  souls  spring  up  rejoicing,  though  more 
chastened,  let  us  still  "  remember  the  days  of  darkness,  for  they 
shall  be  many."  Religion  in  no  way  saves  us  from  afflictions, 
but  it  supports  us  under  them.  It  gives  us  what  nothing  else 
can  give,  the  unvarying  comfort  of  a  Father's  l^ve,  and  an 
unfailing  hope  in  heaven. 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOK      DAUGHTERS.        187 

As  ill  former  ages  a  young  woman  could  not  devote  herself 
by  a  singular  vow  without  the  approval  of  her  father,  although 
with  her  spiritual  feelings  he  had  no  power  to  interfere,  so  now 
let  every  daughter  of  Israel  abstain  from  every  public  or  pre- 
sumptuous evidence  of  religious  profession  which  can  interfere 
with  the  prejudices  of  her  parents.  The  spirit  of  that  beautiful 
religion  which  was  granted  to  us,  and  which  will  again  be  ours, 
was  "  to  tui'n  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  their  children,  and  the 
hearts  of  the  children  to  their  fathers  ;"  not  to  sow  dissension 
and  disunion.  Whatever  a  young  woman  may  feel,  however 
grieve  at  what  she  may  think  is  wanting  in  the  theoretical  or 
practical  religion  of  her  parents,  it  is  her  duty  to  pray  and  wait. 
God  will  answer  in  His  own  time,  but  it  is  no  part  of  her  duty 
either  to  condemn  or  cease  to  love.  No  parent  will  interfere 
with  a  child's  religion,  if,  instead  of  being  obtruded  upon  him, 
it  does  but  guide  alike  conduct  and  feeling,  impel  obedience 
and  cheerfulness,  and  strengthen  to  endure.  The  motive  of  these 
superior  characteristics  an  irreligious  and  unbelieving  parent 
may  not,  indeed,  for  long  years  perceive ;  but,  almost  uncon- 
sciously, he  will  learn  to  respect  the  prejudices  of  such  a  child ; 
and  if,  indeed,  it  may  please  God  to  permit  such  earthly  recom- 
pense, she  may  be  the  blessed  means  of  leading  him  to  the 
same  God,  the  same  immortal  goal. 

But  this  can  never  be  if  she  obtrude  religion,  or  in  the 
slightest  degree  evince  a  supposition  of  her  own  superior  holi- 
ness. It  is  indeed  one  of  the  hardest  trials  in  life,  to  see  any 
one  of  those  whom  we  most  love  perseveringly  reject  all  we 
feel  the  dearest,  most  important.  But  if  we  bring  it  before 
God,  He  will  give  us  strength  to  continue  constant  in  prayer 
for  them,  and  lessen  the  evil  we  deplore.  The  case  of  a  parent 
refusing  to  let  his  child  serve  God,  and  make  religion  her  first 
object,  is  utterly  unknown  in  Israel ;  but  should  it  be,  in  this  * 
instance  only  a  child  is  imperatively  called  upon  to  disobey. 
The  commands  of  an  earthly  parent  must  be  disregarded,  if 
they  interfere  with  and.  compel  disobedience  to  the  commands 
of  God.  Leviticus  xix.  29  authorizes  our  upholding  this. 
Although  the  case  itself,  in  which  there  is  a  daughter  guarded 
from  an  unnatural  father,  be  diflferent  in  details,  yet  it  is  equally 
protective  in  the  present  instance  ;  and  a  child  may  be  fully 
assured,  if  the  command  of  her  father  compel  disobedience  tc 
her  God  in  any  one  of  His  commandments  (for  all  are  of  equal 


188  THfi       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

sanctity  to  the  one  alluded  to  in  the  verse  quoted),  her  painful 
duty  must  be  to  disobey. 

But  a  state  of  things  so  fearful  can  never  be  in  Israel,  if  a 
daughter's  religion  be  practised  as  we  have  hinted  above. 

There  may  be  indifference,  there  may  be  the  apparent  absence 
of  all  spiritual  religion  ;  but  no  man  who  wishes  to  be  thought 
an  Israelite,  ever  neglects  the  peculiar  forms  of  his  faith,  and  his 
daughter,  therefore,  has  no  cause  for  dividing  herself  from  him, 
however  more  earnest,  more  spiritual,  may  be  her  individual 
views.  She  may  have  to  bear  with  the  neglect  or  disregard  of 
some  ordinances  which  her  heart  tells  her  are  sacred,  but  if  she 
have  the  will  she  has  the  power  to  keep  her  own  way  undefiled ; 
and  if  she  be  truly  and  sincerely  a  daughter  of  Israel,  every 
parental  disregard  of  holy  things  will  bring  her  to  her  God  yet 
more  earnestly  in  prayer. 

One  othei"  point  we  would  urge  ere  we  quit  the  subject.  Let 
not  Israel's  young  daughters  fancy,  that  to  devote  heart,  mind, 
and  soul  to  God,  demands  the  relinquishment  of  those  innocent 
pleasures  and  enjoyments  for  which  God  himself  has  framed  our 
hearts.  There  are  many  among  the  Gentiles  who  believe  reli- 
gion wholly  incompatible  with  recreation  and  amusement ;  that 
all  social  pleasures  must  be  resigned  ;  only  certain  books  perus- 
ed and  even  some  accomjilishraents  forbidden,  as  likely  to  lead 
to  sin.  The  religion  of  God  is,  on  the  contrary,  so  consistent 
with  man's  capabilities  and  yearnings,  that  we  never  can  believe 
these  things  incumbent  upon  us.  The  first  grand  object  of  our 
lives,  in  truth,  it  must  be;  and  that  gained — which,  if  we  incul- 
cate the  immoi'tal  spirit  of  religion  as  well  as  its  more  perishable 
form  unto  our  children,  it  will  be — we  need  not  fear  that  enjoy- 
ment either  of  social  intercourse  or  of  intellectual  resources  will 
turn  us  from  it.  God  has  framed  us  to  give  and  to  receive  plea- 
sure. He  has  stored  our  hearts  with  sweet  emotions,  our  minds 
with  inexhaustible  resources.  We  best  make  manifest  our  deep 
and  grateful  sense  of  His  loving-kindness  by  its  enjoyment. 
"  God  loveth  a  cheerful  giver,"  we  have  somewhere  read.  And 
in  no  religion  is  this  sentiment  so  truly,  practically  illustrated  as 
in  ours,  coming,  as  it  does,  from  God  Himself.  A  knowledge  of 
ourselves,  which,  if  we  are  accustomed  in  youth  to  examine  our 
hearts  by  the  standard  of  God's  word,  we  shall  undoubtedly 
obtain,  will  warn  us  of  those  weaknesses  and  failings  most  likely 
to  lead  us  into  temptation ;  and  we  shall  guard  against  these, 


PERIOD      II. LAWS      FOR      DAUGHTERS.      189 

and  either  conquer  them  through  His  infused  grace,  or  shun 
them  till  the  strength  we  implore  is  granted.  "J'here  is  no  need 
to  become  different  in  seeming  from  our  fellows,  and  tacitly  con- 
demn and  chide  every  innocent  amusement  and  resource  by  our 
refusal  to  join  in  them.  The  idea  that  no  amusement  is  inno- 
cent, that  nothing  we  do,  think,  or  feel  is  free  from  sin,  is  not — 
blessed  be  God ! — the  creed  of  Israel.  He  hath  appointed  our 
religious  and  moral  duties  ;  He  hath  laid  down  our  earthly  path  ; 
He  hath  tauglit  us  how  to  look  to  Him,  and  how  by  faith  we 
shall  be  justified,  and  through  His  infinite  mercy  be  received 
with  Him.  He  hath  stored  our  souls  and  minds  with  exhaust- 
less  capabilities  of  happiness,  even  upon  earth.  He  hath  gather- 
ed around  us  in  His  beautiful  world  a  thousand  objects  to  call 
forth  love,  gratitude,  and  joy  ;  and  He  who  is  truth  and  justice 
would  not  have  done  these  things,  were  we  so  inca|)able  of 
righteousness,  as  from  our  birth  to  be  blackened  with  such  sin  as 
only  blood  can  wash  away. 

Let  me  not  be  misunderstood,  or  accused  of  contradicting  my 
own  theory,  so  to  speak,  for  my  theory  is  the  theory  of  the  Bible. 
Liable  to  every  weakness — more  inclined  to  the  evil  than  the 
good — we  are;  but  such  is  inherent  from  the  time  that  our  hea- 
venly origin  was  changed  and  marred  by  the  dominion  of  the 
passions,  infirmities,  and  weakness  of  earth.  And  it  was  for 
such  beings  the  law  was  given,  to  aid  them  to  subdue  natural 
corruption,  to  give  them  opportunities  to  exercise  righteousness, 
virtue,  and  faith  ;  to  awaken  the  immortal  part  of  our  nature ; 
to  arouse  all  those  better,  higher,  and  purer  feelings,  which,  how- 
ever dormant,  cannot  die,  for  they  have  been  breathed  into  us 
by  the  spirit  of  the  Lord ;  and  for  which,  if  we  neglect  and  let 
them  ever  sleep,  because  we  fancy  we  either  possess  them  not,  or 
are  too  closely  bound  to  arouse  them,  we  shall  be  called  to  a 
fearful  account.  Not  one  single  point  of  the  Eternal's  precious 
word — the  Bible  which  we  acknowledge — authorizes  a  belief  in 
the  Gentile  creed. 

The  particular  mention  of  the  superior  sanctity  of  the  priests' 
daughters,  evinces  that  the  holiness  of  the  fathers  was  shared  by 
the  daughters.  They  were  to  partake  of  the  holy  meats,  not 
only  in  their  youth  ;  but  if  widows,  or  divorced,  without  child- 
ren, had  the  power  of  returning  to  their  father's  house.  A  fur- 
ther proof  of  the  holiness  incumbent  ou  her  as  the  daughter  of 
the  Eternal's  appointed  servant,  and  one  who  had  power  by  her 


190  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

conduct  either  to  exalt  or  "  profane  her  father,"  we  find,  in  Lc\it 
xxi.  9,  a  different  and  more  awful  death  appointed  for  her,  if  she 
became  sinful,  than  the  usual  mode  of  Hebrew  executions. 
These  laws,  of  course,  cannot  concern  us  now  (though  would 
that  they  could,  our  priests  being,  as  they  oug-ht  to  be,  the  first 
in  rank  and  consequence  of  our  nafion),  but  the  spirit  oi"  them, 
as  of  every  other  relative  to  the  women  of  Israel,  tends  to  mark 
their  equality,  their  elevation,  and  their  immortal  responsibility, 
so  forcibly  as  to  prevent  all  possible  rejoinder.  Were  the  pray- 
ers of  man  sufficient  for  the  welfare  of  woman — had  she  no 
individual  soul  to  render  account  of — there  would  be  less  neces- 
sity to  notice  the  wives  and  the  daughters  of  the  priests  than  any 
other.  The  superior  sanctity  of  their  husbands  and  fathers 
would  surely  be  more  than  sufficient  for  them.  We  trust,  how- 
ever, we  have  said  enough  to  convince  our  young  sisters  that,  as 
Daughters  of  Israel,  they  have  higher  and  nobler  privileges  than 
the  daughters  of  any  other  race  ;  that  their  God  Himself  has 
deigned  to  give  laws  and*  ordinances  for  their  especial  guidance 
and  protection,  which  cannot  be  gainsaid  without  verging  on 
impiety.  And  that,  therefore,  much,  very  much,  deperids  on 
them,  one  and  all,  to  uphold  His  glory  through  their  own  reli- 
gious and  moral  dignity,  and  give  evidence,  alike  to  their  own 
hearts,  and  to  those  nations,  by  word,  thought,  and  deed,  that 
they  need  nothing  more  than  their  own  beautiful  religion  to  guide 
them  through  earth  and  time,  and  fit  them  for  eternity  and  hea- 
ven.    They  can  do  this,  and  will  they  fail  ? 


CHAPTER   V. 


MAID       SERVANTS       IN       ISRAEL,       AND       SUNDRY 
OTHER       LAWS. 

Our  fifth  section  alludes  to  a  class  which  (we  say  it  with 
grief)  no  longer  exists  amongst  us,  and,  therefore,  can  only  be 
looked  upon  as  a  still  further  proof  of  the  Eternal's  loving  care 


PERIOD       II. LAWS      FOR      SKRVANTS.      197 

for  His  female  children.  It  cannot  guide  us  till  once  more  we 
have  maid-servants  of  our  own  faith  amongst  us.  How  often, 
how  constantly,  this  subject  has  engrossed  the  thoughts  and 
wishes  of  the  writer,  that  by  any  possible  means,  the  daughters 
of  our  poorer  and  dependent  brethren  could  be  received  as 
domestics  in  our  families,  and  so  enable  us  to  adhere  to  the 
laws  framed  for  them,  can  be  known  but  to  the  Searcher  of  all 
hearts  ;  for  when  spoken  to  man,  the  idea  is  received  but  as 
high-flown  folly,  impossible  to  be  realized.  If  so  considered  by 
the  mass,  there  is  no  help  for  it,  and  so  it  must  remain  till  it 
please  God  to  put  His  spirit  once  more  within  us,  and  enlighten 
the  darkness  which,  in  some  instances,  has  gathered  around  us, 
rich  and  poor. 

That  it  is  only  the  rich  and  influential  who  can  bring  about 
reform  in  our  poorer  classes  we  quite  acknowledge.  Their  reli- 
gious education  must  be  carried  on  on  a  diflerent  basis.  The 
spirit  and  meaning  of  every  form  must  be  inculcated,  or  they 
can  never  rise  from  the  ignorance  and  superstition  in  which, 
through  long  ages  of  fearful  persecution,  they  are  plunged.  The 
mind  and  heart  alike  must  be  enlarged  ;  their  own  dignity, 
their  own  responsibility  inculcated  ;  the  distinction  between 
essential  and  local  laws  ;  the  superior,  the  unchangeable  sanc- 
tity of  the  law  of  God,  combined  with  reverence  and  love  for 
the  fence  which  good,  and  wise,  and  holy  men  have  raised 
around  it.  Were  these  things  inculcated,  there  would  be  many 
eager  to  accept  the  offers  of  service  in  Jewish  families,  and  find 
their  obedience  to  their  God  quite  compatible  with  their  duty 
to  their  employers.  Of  course  we  allude  not  to  those  establish- 
ments in  which  but  one  or  two  servants  only  are  kept.  We 
simply  mean  those  classes  where  there  are  upper  and  lower 
domestics — where  one  day  in  the  week  the  former  may  not  be 
called  upon  either  for  servile  work,  or  to  break  through  any  of 
the  forms  which  hallow  the  Sabbath  day.  There  are  such 
things,  we  have  heard,  as  head  nurses,  who,  even  though  Gen- 
tiles, have  nothing  to  do  with  the  servile  work  of  their  nursery 
kingdoms.  Ladies'  maids,  who  have  nothing  to  do  but  needle- 
work, dress  hair,  and  attend  to  their  mistress  and  young  ladies. 
Housekeepers,  even  housemaids,  where  there  are  upper  and 
lower.  All  these  situations  might,  were  they  properly  educated 
for  it,  be  filled  by  the  maid-servants  in  Israel,  without  interfer 
ing  one  tittle  with  their  adherence  and  obedience  to  their  Faith. 


192  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

There  must,  indeed,  be  a  will  on  both  sides,  the  employers 
and  the  employed,  but  were  that  will  found,  the  way  would 
be  easy. 

E\'ery  law  instituted  in  Israel  for  the  safety,  happiness,  and 
welfare  of  the  man-servant,  mentioned  by  name  the  maid-servant 
also.  In  obedience  to  the  fourth  commandment,  in  the  protec- 
tion of  the  tentii,  in  every  festival  and  fast,  every  ordinance 
binding  on  Jewish  families  as  well  as  individuals,  we  find  the 
maid-servant  expressly  named  ;  thus  proving  that,  thoUa^h  her 
actual  rank  was  subordinate,  though  her  duties  were  distinct, 
she  was  as  carefully  and  tenderly  provided  for  as  the  daughters 
of  a  family  themselves.  Even  in  the  eating  of  holy  things, 
which  some  might  suppose  a  privilege  only  granted  to  the  heirs 
of  households,  she  was  associated.  No  man  could  rejoice  before 
the  Lord  by  himself;  sons,  daughters,  widows,  fatherless,  men- 
servants,  and  maid-servants,  all  were  included,  and  so  distinctly 
enumerated,  that  not  one  could  be  omitted  without  a  decided 
breach  of  law.  The  twenty-first  chapter  of  Exodus  and  fifteenth 
chapter  of  Deuteronomy  treat  powerfully  on  the  protection  and 
kindness  demanded  towards  male  and  female  domestics.  The 
simple  words,  "  they  shall  not  go  out  as  men-servants  do," 
reveal  the  loving  care  for  their  protection,  that  they  should  not 
be  exposed  to  all  the  rougher  labor  of  the  field  and  out-door 
service  incumbent  on  the  males.  To  sell  her  to  a  strange 
nation,  which  would  be  the  natural  desire  of  the  injurer  and 
the  deceiver,  to  conceal  his  sin,  no  man  had  power ;  for,  if  he 
did  so,  she  could  not  regain  her  freedom  at  the  end  of  seven 
years,  and  be  restored  to  her  family,  as  was  the  law  in  Israel. 
If  he  betrothed  her  to  his  son,  she  was  to  become  even  as  a 
daughter ;  and  if,  as  was  the  custom  of  the  East,  another  wife 
were  taken,  her  food,  her  raiment,  her  duty  of  marriaire,  he  had 
no  power  to  diminish.  If  he  failed  in  either,  she  was  free  and 
spotless,  alike  in  the  sight  of  God  and  man.  These  beautiful 
laws  appear,  not  only  pretty  convincing  of  the  equality  of 
female  servants  with  their  male  brethren  in  the  same  class,  but 
rather  a  startling  manifestation  of  the  falsity  of  the  charge,  that 
wives  in  Israel  are  degraded  and  abased.  If  even  a  female 
slave,  when  raised  to  become  the  wife  of  her  master's  son,  was 
to  be  regarded  sis  a  daughter,  to  retain  her  every  privilege  as 
first-selected  wife,  however  the  capricious  heart  of  her  husband 
might  select  another  of  his  own  rank,  we  rather  imagine  that 


PERIOD       II.  LAWS      FOR      SERVANTS.     193 

every  grade  of  Hebrew  wives   was  equally  protected  by  the 
Lord,  and  that  no  man  whatever  had  power  to  degrade  them. 

All  injury  committed  on  a  female  servant  exposed  her  master 
to  punishment  of  equal  severity  as  the  injury  of  a  male.  He 
dared  do  her  no  hurt,  for  if  he  did,  whether  through  prede- 
termination or  momentary  passion,  she  was  his  slave  no  longer. 
She  had  power  to  appeal  from  him  to  the  representatives  of  her 
God,  His  priests,  and  she  knew  justice  would  be  done  her,  for 
to  do  it  was  the  ordinance  of  God.  And,  even  without  injury, 
the  term  of  servitude  was  over  in  the  seventh  year.  The 
extremity  of  destitution  might  have  compelled  a  parent  to  sell, 
or  rather  to  devote,  his  child  to  servitude  ;  or  reasons  less 
imperative  might  urge  his  doing  so,  knowing  that  his  children, 
even  though  they  worked,  would  be  better  provided  for,  and 
perhaps  more  easily  enabled  to  keep  every  ordinance  of  the  Lord, 
in  the  family  of  their  master,  than  struggling  on  for  a  scanty 
subsistence,  nominally  free.  The  poor  were  not  to  cease  out  of 
the  land,  that  the  people  might  obey  the  words  of  their  God, 
in  which  He  bade  them,  "Open  thine  hand  wide  unto  thy  poor 
brother,  to  thy  poor  and  to  thy  needy  in  thy  land  ;"  and  then, 
as  a  practical  ilkistration  of  how  the  hand  is  to  be  opened  wide, 
we  are  told  that  when  our  brother  a  Hebrew  man,  or  a  Hebrew 
woman,  has  been  sold,  and  served  in  a  family  six  years,  we  were 
not  only  to  let  him,  or  her,  go  free,  which,  did  we  act  according 
to  the  finite  judgment  of  man,  there  would  be  many  to  think 
sufficient ;  but  they  were  to  be  furnished  liberally  out  of  the 
flock  and  the  floor  (i.  e.  barn,  meaning  corn),  and  out  of  the 
wine-press  ;  of  all  wherewith  the  Lord  had  blessed  us  we  were 
to  give  unto  them.  And  not  satisfied  with  having  already 
mentioned  the  Hebrew  woman,  as  included  with  the  Hebrew 
man,  in  these  laws,  the  law  again  enforces  the  equal  rights  of 
both,  by  repeating,  "  and  also  unto  thy  maid-servant  thou  shalt 
do  likewise  ;"  adding,  with  that  exquisite  spirit  of  love  infused 
through  every  law,  "  It  shall  not  seem  hard  unto  thee,  when 
thou  sendest  him  away  free  from  thee,  for  he  has  been  worth  a 
double  hired  servant,  in  serving  thee  six  years,  and  the  Lord  thy 
God  shall  bless  thee  in  all  thou  doest."  Now,  had  there  been 
no  other  mention  of  woman,  these  beautiful  laws  would  have 
been  sufficient  to  prove  her  equality  with  man  in  the  sight  of 
the  Eternal.  The  illustration  of  these  laws  was  given  before 
the  precept,  in  the  Most  High's  dealings  with  Hagar,  as  we  have 


194.  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

already  seen  ;  as  a  bond-slave,  and  one  not  even  of  His  chosen. 
He  had  compassion  and  love  for  her  ;  and  that  His  people 
should  endeavor  as  strong'y  as  lay  in  their  power  to  follow  in 
His  own  paths,  He  laid  down  statutes,  the  obedience  to  which 
would  make  every  maid-servant  as  much  the  object  of  her 
master's  care,  tenderness,  and  liberality,  as  Hagar  had  been  to 
Him. 

The  command  relative  to  the  maid-servants'  attendance  at 
the  feast  of  holy  things,  on  every  Sabbath  festival,  etc.,  is  rather 
convincing  of  religion  being  as  incumbent  on  her  as  on  man  ; 
nay,  that  her  master  himself  was  liable  to  punishment  if  he 
neglected  to  associate  her,  as  well  as  every  other  of  his  house- 
hold, in  his  religious  exercises. 

Some  over-retined  natures  are  horrified  at  the  idea  of  being 
sold  to  service — of  the  very  term  slave  (the  Hebrew  word  HIS 
by  the  way,  signifies  servant  or  domestic  also) ;  and,  taking  up 
the  position  that  the  law  of  Moses  countenanced  similar  traffic 
as  the  slave  trade  in  all  its  modern  horrors,  make  it  the  grand 
objection  to  regarding  the  religion  as  the  revelation  of  God. 
Yet  no  one  who  really  studies  the  Word  of  God,  can  entertain 
an  idea  so  erroneous  for  a  moment.  Perpetual  slavery — that 
awful  sacrifice  of  all  home  ati'ections,  all  human  emotions,  that 
horrible  system  which  permitted  man  to  regard  his  bi'other  man 
as  a  beast  of  the  field,  to  be  bought  and  sold,  live  and  die  at  his 
will — was  utterly  unknown  in  Israel.  The  term  "  selling"  a 
son  or  daughter,  simply  signified  the  receiving  beforehand  the 
price  of  six  years'  labor,  in  which  six  years  the  slave  (so  called) 
was  equal  to  his  master  in  everything  but  actual  labor.  He 
was  to  share  in  every  feast,  every  rejoicing,  sit  at  his  master's 
table,  listen  to  the  law,  accept  every  covenant  of  God,  be 
clothed,  fed,  and  cared  for,  and  at  the  term  of  his  release  be  so 
liberally  treated  individually,  as  to  enable  him,  if  he  pleased,  to 
quit  ser  'ice,  and  enter  into  independent  business  for  himself,  or 
remain,  from  j^ure  affection  or  vohmtary  relinquishment  of 
freedom,  for  ever  with  his  master.  This  was  the  actual  state  of 
slavery  in  Israel,  productive  of  a  three-fold  good.  It  saved 
many  a  parent  from  beholding  the  utter  destitution  of  his 
children  ;  gave  him  the  means  of  working  for  himself  by  the 
price  received  for  their  six  years'  labor,  assured  him  of  their 
temporal  and  spiritual  welfare  and  of  their  being  cared  for,  on  their 
release,  far  better  than  he  could  for  them,  much  as  he  loved 


PERIOD       II, LAWS      FOR      SERVANTS.        195 

them  ;  prevented  all  those  horrible  incentives  to  crime  and 
misery  produced  by  the  abject  destitution  of  many  a  Gentile 
laud  ;  united  master  and  servant  in  the  sweet  and  holy  ties  of 
brotherhood,  alike  of  religion,  tribe,  and  land  ;  subject  to  one 
hiw,  worshipping  one  God,  caring  for  the  helpless  and  the  weak, 
•and  making  every  household  where  the  laws  of  God  were 
obeyed  one  of  heavenly  harmony  and  love.  In  Israel  there  was 
no  surplus  of  hands  for  work  ;  none  of  those  fearful  temptations 
to  sin  in  being  thrown  out  of  employ,  in  the  inabihty  to  meet 
the  heavy  taxes  and  other  drains  upon  the  poor.  The  law  in 
its  every  item  spoke  of  God,  and  revealed  Him  as  a  God  of 
love.  He  alone  could  have  framed  statutes  entering  into  every 
man's  household,  guiding  his  conduct  from  his  parents  to  his 
very  servants;  shielding,  compassionating,  loving  every  indi- 
vidual in  Israel,  from  the  high  priest  to  the  lowest  slave. 

Having  now  regarded  all  the  laws  instituted  expressly  for 
woman,  in  her  several  positions  of  mother,  wife,  widow,  daughter, 
maid-servant,  we  have  but  to  throw  together  all  the  remaining 
statutes  relating  to  her  generally.  In  every  otFering,  be  it  of 
trespass,  of  thanksgiving,  or  of  purification,  we  find  in  Leviticus, 
Numbers,  and  Deuteronomy,  woman  was  so  emphatically 
included  as  to  be  the  subject  of  laws  set  apart  for  herself.  The 
ordinances  were  binding  on  both  man  and  vvoman,  and  care 
expressly  taken  to  mark  the  guiding  line  of  obedience  for  both. 
The-e  was  nothing  left  for  inference,  but  all  which  was  neces- 
sary was  distinctly  laid  down.  In  the  very  particular  law  for 
lepers,  woman  was  named  as  well  as  man.  Nothing  was  left 
'■o  human  judgment ;  every  item  concerning  its  treatment,  its 
care,  and  its  purification,  precisely  written  down.  In  the  laws 
for  the  Nazarite  (Numbers  vi.),  woman  is  specified  so  clearly, 
that  it  is  utterly  impossible  to  retain  a  doubt  of  her  service 
being  equally  acceptable,  or  that  she  had  not  the  same  power 
as  man,  to  separate  herself  by  a  vow  unto  the  Lord.  That 
which  was  to  guide  man  in  this  devotion,  must  equally  have 
been  given  to  guide  her,  or  we  should  not  see  it  so  expressly 
stated,  "  when  man  or  woman  shall  separate  themselves  to  vow 
the  vow  of  a  Nazarite,"  etc.  A  woman  wlio  could  wish  to 
devote  herself,  appears  to  us  to  have  been  an  independent 
single  woman,  and,  therefore,  not  one  of  the  daughters  and  wives 
specified  in  the  latter  law  regarding  vows,  which,  judging  from 


196  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

the  beautiful  precision  of  the  laws  of  God,  would,  had  it  alluded 
to  the  Nazarites,  have  been  so  expressed.  The  singular  vow 
mentioned  in  Leviticus  xxvii.,  including,  as  every  other  ordi- 
nance, woman  as  well  as  man,  may  or  may  not  relate  to  the 
same  kind  of  vows  as  mentioned  in  Numbers  xxx.  But  whether 
it  be  or  not,  the  law  for  the  respective  valuation  of  male  and 
female  service,  proves  that  woman  could  make  a  singular  vow, 
and  either  fulfil  or  redeem  it  with  equal  freedom  and  acceptance  as 
man.  That  her  service  was  valued  at  a  less  rate,  is  no  proof  of  her 
inequality,  but  simply  that  the  service  she  could  render  the  Temple 
was,  from  the  weakness  of  her  frame,  and  the  retiring  nature  of 
her  sex,  of  less  use  and  importance  than  man's.  Compare  the 
work  and  capability  of  a  man  from  the  age  of  twenty  to  sixty, 
to  those  of  a  woman  during  the  same  period.  There  would  be 
full  tlie  worth  of  "  twenty  shekels"  difference.  After  the  age 
of  sixty,  or  in  early  childhood,  the  difference  of  valuation  was 
much  less,  because  the  capabilities  of  both  drew  nearer  each 
other.  We  see,  then,  the  real  meaning  of  these  differing  esti- 
mations. The  law  of  God,  while  it  elevates  and  spiritualizes 
woman  to  an  equal  share  of  immortality  and  responsibility 
before  Him,  in  no  way  permits  or  encourages  her  coming  unduly 
forward  or  exalting  herself  above  man.  Her  weaker  frame,  her 
less  mighty  mind,  her  more  easily  excited  emotions,  all  mark 
the  necessity  of  a  more  retiring  and  dependent  station.  She 
may  contend  for  equal  earthly  riglits,  she  may  deem  our  asser- 
tion of  her  inferior  capabilities  of  frame  and  mind  an  unfounded 
aspei-sion  cast  upon  her,  she  may  say  she  is  equally  independent, 
equally  strong,  in  reason  and  power,  yet  to  prove  this,  we  fear 
she  will  not  tiud  quite  so  easy.  Certainly  not  by  the  word  of 
God,  her  only  sure  test  of  reason  and  feeling.  And  how  much 
more  just  and  graceful  is  her  voluntary  adherence  to  her  own 
allotted  path,  and  her  determination  to  adorn  that  path  with  all 
the  winning  qualities,  the  devotedness,  the  affections,  peculiar  to 
her  own  sex,  th^n  the  vain  struggle  to  be  in  all  things  as  man ; 
a  struggle  in  which  she  can  but  make  manifest  her  weakness, 
and  finally  be  so  vanquished,  that  even  her  natural  chnms  are 
denied  her,  or  conceded  as  a  favor,  not  as  a  right. 

The  equality  which  we  contend  for  (and  which  we  uphold  is 
so  clearly  demonstrated,  in  not  only  our  holy  law  itself,  but  in 
the  mention  of  every  female  of  the  Bible),  is  not,  in  our  capa- 
bility, our  station,  humanly  considered,  but  simply  as  immortal 


PERIOD     II. MISCELLANEOUS     LAWS.    197 

children  of  the  Most  High  ;  having  equal  access  to  His  gracious 
ear,  equal  power  to  win  his  condescending  reply,  equal  respon- 
sibility in  tlie  performance  of  our  every  duty,  in  the  just  exer- 
cise of  our  several  faculties  ;  which  fticullies,  so  peculiarly  adapted 
by  our  merciful  Father  to  our  wants,  happiness,  and  duties,  are 
of  equal  valuation  in  His  sight  as  those  of  man.  This  is  woman's 
equality,  proved  by  the  very  law  which,  by  some  misguided 
spirits,  may  be  twisted  into  her  abasement.  What  would  be 
the  need  of  marking  her  human  valuation,  if  she  had  not  the 
power  of  devoting  herself  by  a  singular  vow  unto  the  Lord,  in 
any  period  of  her  life,  from  a  month  old  to  above  sixty  ?  Or, 
if  she  have  no  access  to  God,  save  through  man,  what  could  be 
the  use  of  her  vow  ?  Were  she  to  be  degraded  morally  and 
mentally,  where  would  be  even  her  inclination  for  this  spiritual 
service  ?  Surely  there  need  not  have  been  any  reference  to  her 
in  this  law,  if  the  women  of  Israel  were  to  be  considered  slaves 
and  heathens. 

By  this  twenty- seventh  chapter  of  Leviticus,  we  see  too  that 
female  infants  might  be  devoted  by  their  parents  to  the  Lord, 
another  beautiful  and  unanswerable  manifestation  of  their  per- 
fect equality  with  their  brothers  from  their  very  birth,  and  must 
entirely  do  awciy  with  the  idea  that  has  been  so  idly  brough* 
forward,  that  the  festival  attending  the  naming  of  male  children 
in  Israel,  compared  with  the  quiet  rece]ition  of  the  female,  at 
once  proves  in  what  an  inferior  light  the  latter  is  regarded. 
The  festivity  which  hails  the  entrance  of  the  new-born  son  of 
Israel  into  the  holy  covenant  of  his  fathers,  is  an  immemorial 
national  usage,  descending  to  us  from  "  the  time  that  Abraham 
made  a  great  feast,  the  day  that  Isaac  was  weaned,"  and  has 
nothing  whatever  to  do  with  the  claims  of  one  sex  over  the  other. 
To  my  own  heart,  the  different  reception  of  male  and  female 
children  is  an  exquisite  illustration  and  type  of  their  respective 
paths.  The  world  and  man  must  be  the  theatre  and  the  tellow- 
actor  of  the  hoy  ;  he  must  go  forth  armed  with  a  religious  heart 
and  unbending  spirit  to  meet  the  temptations  of  pleasure,  ambi- 
tion, and  a  host  of  other  passicms  and  emotions,  which  must 
assail  his  more  public  path.  But,  to  the  yirl^  home  is  her 
theatre,  her  God  her  only  stay.  Why  should  festivity  and  idle 
revelry  hail  the  birth  of  one,  in  whose  own  heart  must  be  her 
purest  pleasures,  distinct  from  every  pleasure  (so  called)  of  the 
world  ;  whose  path  must  be  one  of  quiet  and  unostentatious 


198  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

retirement  and  usefulness  ?  Her  name  is  given  in  the  house  of 
God,  and  by  one  of  His  elected  servants.  Taken  to  the  most 
holy  place,  which,  in  our  captive  and  desolate  state,  His  house 
presents,  by  that  ceremony  to  be  received  into  the  congregation 
of  His  people,  does  the  female  babe  need  more  ?  Cannot  the 
Hebrew  mother  thus  realize  the  devoting  her  child  to  the  faith 
and  service  of  her  God,  more  powerfullj',  more  solemnly,  than 
in  even  the  festive  circle  which  gathers  round  to  hail  the  naming 
of  her  boy  ?  We  think,  were  these  several  rites  more  seriously 
considered,  the  idle  chai'ge  we  have  quoted  above,  merely  to 
disprove  it,  would  find  little  resting  in  the  heart  of  our  fellows. 

The  express  prohibition  relating  to  woman's  adopting,  on  any 
pretence  whatever,  the  garments  of  the  male,  is  another  beauti- 
ful ordinance  marking  her  natural  sphere,  and  proving  that  any 
departure  from  it  was  not  acceptable  to  the  Lord.  It  was  not 
only  the  act  itself  which  is  so  forcibly  brought  forward,  that 
Deut.  xxii.  5  tells  us,  "  All  that  do  so  are  abomination  unto  the 
Lord  thy  God,"  but  the  thoughts  and  feelings  included  in  such 
an  act,  the  temptation  to  depart  from  the  retirement,  the 
modesty,  the  purity  of  that  home  station  which  woman  should 
so  quietly  fulfil.  Were  she  not  an  equally  responsible  moral 
and  religious  agent  as  man,  why  need  this  law  have  been 
given  ? 

Again,  we  find  that  women  who  have  wrought  wickedness, 
women  who  have  a  familiar  spirit  (that  is,  sought  to  deceive  by 
pretended  spells  and  enchantments),  women  who  have  enticed 
to  idolatry — all  these,  as  well  as  similar  sinners  amidst  the 
males,  were  to  be  stoned  to  death  on  the  evidence  of  two  wit- 
nesses. Now  the  very  power  to  work  such  wickedness,  supposes 
a  perfect  freedom  of  thought  and  will,  wholly  distinct  from  the 
power  of  man.  Were  woman  so  entirely  the  slave  of  man  that 
her  very  prayers  must  be  guided  by  his,  and  could  only  be 
acceptable  through  him,  there  could  be  no  justice  in  condemning 
her  as  a  free  agent ;  her  sins  must  be  the  sins  of  her  father  or 
husband,  not  her  own,  if  her  merit  were  only  acceptable  through 
his.  She  could  not  possibly  be  bound  to  obey  the  law,  or 
punished  for  its  disobedience,  if  it  were  only  given  to,  and  incum- 
bent on,  man.  If  she  were  to  be  made  a  slave  and  heathen,  how 
does  it  happen  that,  wherever  there  can  be  a  doubt  as  to  both 
Bexes  being  included,  either  in  religious  observances,  or  pro- 
hibiting of  customs  which  were  abomination  unto  the  Lord, 


PERIOD      II. MISCELLANEOUS      LAWS.     199 

WOMAN  is  expressly  mentioned  in  conjunction  with  man  ?  The 
very  wrath  threatened  in  case  of  her  trangression  proves  her 
equaHty  quite  as  powerfully  as  the  rewards  promised  to  obedi- 
ence, and  the  laws  instituted  for  her  adherence. 

Three  times  a  year  it  was  a  positive  enjoinment  for  every  male 
to  appear  before  the  Lord  in  the  place  appointed  for  His  temple. 
That  woman  was  not  included  by  name,  was,  instead  of  being  a 
proof  of  her  lesser  importance  and  responsibility,  a  beautiful 
manifestation  of  that  divine  tenderness  and  justice,  which,  in 
their  perfection  and  prescience,  God  only  could  display.  A 
nameless  variety  of  causes  might  intervene  to  prevent  woman's 
leaving  her  home  in  the  distant  provinces  of  Judea  to  accom- 
pany her  father  and  husband  to  Jerusalem.  Many  a  man  might 
be  enabled  to  obey  the  law  himself,  who  would  have  been  pre- 
vented doing  so,  had  he  been  under  a  positive  command  to 
bring  with  him  wife  and  children. 

Locomotion  is  man's  native  element,  and  he  can  more  often 
indulge  in  it  without  interfering  with  home  duties  than  woman. 
It  was  right  and  just,  that  he  who  so  frequently  travelled  for 
pleasure  should  do  so  three  times  a  year  in  obedience  to  the  will 
of  God.  But  many  causes,  in  her  own  physical  inability  or 
maternal  anxiety  in  the  illness  of  some  member  of  her  family, 
might  occur  to  prevent  woman,  and  therefore  the  law  was  not 
made  binding  upon  her,  as  it  was  on  man. 

That  this  distinct  mention  of  "  all  thy  males"  in  no  way 
degraded  her,  however,  is  clearly  proved  by  the  simple  fact  of 
her  being  required,  when  it  was  possible,  and  in  all  her  positions 
in  life,  to  rejoice  before  the  Lord  in  his  appointed  festivals,  to 
listen  to  the  reading  of  His  law  at  the  Feast  of  Tabernacles,  to 
attend  to  the  offerings  instituted  expressly  for  her,  to  abstain 
fron  all  wickedness  and  idolatry,  and  to  come  unto  the  Lord  in 
every  event,  thought,  act,  desire,  public  or  private,  of  her  life. 
"  Ye  stand  this  day  all  of  you  before  the  Lord  your  God,"  Moses 
exclaims,  in  the  twenty-ninth  chapter  of  Deuteronomy  ;  "  your 
captains  of  your  tribes,  your  elders,  and  your  officers,  with  all 
the  men  of  Israel,  your  little  ones,  your  wives,  and  the  stranger 
that  is  in  thy  camp,  from  the  hewer  of  wood  to  the  drawer  of 
water,  that  thou  shouldst  enter  into  covenant  with  the  Lord  thy 
God,  and  into  His  oath,  that  He  may  establish  thee  to-day  for 
a  people  unto  Himself,  and  that  He  may  be  unto  thee  a  God, 
as  He  hath  said  unto  thee,  and  as  he  hath  sworn  unto  thy 

VOL.   I.  10 


200  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL, 

fathers,  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and  to  Jacob.  Neither  with  you 
only  do  I  make  this  covenant  and  this  oath,  but  with  him  that 
standeth  here  with  us  this  day  before  the  Lord  our  God,  and 
also  with  him  who  is  not  here  ivith  us  this  day.  Jest  there  should 
be  among  you  any  man^  woman,  family,  or  tribe,  whose  heart 
turneth  away  this  day  to  go  and  serve  the  gods  of  these 
nations." 

In  these  few  verses,  and  yet  more  powerfully  in  the  whole 
chapter,  to  which  we  entreat  our  readers  to  turn,  we  have  all 
which,  as  woinen  of  Israel,  we  need  to  seal  the  scriptural  truth 
and  basis  of  the  position  which  we  have  adopted  and  set  forth. 
Every  class,  grade,  and  condition  of  women,  as  of  men,  must 
have  been  present  when  Moses  spoke  these  emphatic  words — all 
included  in  the  terms,  "  little  ones  and  wives."  And  they 
heard,  that  Moses  addressed  not  only  thetn,  but  their  descendants, 
lest  any  man,  woman,  family,  or  tribe,  should,  by  their  idol- 
atry, or  other  transgression,  hurl  down  on  the  whole  nation  the 
awful  curses  which  he  proceeds  to  enumerate.  Would  he,  need 
he,  have  been  thus  particular,  were  the  women  of  Israel  destined 
to  be  but  slaves  to  man,  nonentities  before  God  ?  Alas  !  what- 
ever the  falsely  accusing  Gentile,  or  mistaken  Hebrew,  may 
assert,  we  have  but  fearful  evidence  in  the  monarch  of  Israel  of 
the  influence  of  woman,  manifesting  too  terribly  the  prophet's 
prescience  in  including  her,  as  leading  herself  and  man  to  sin, 
and  so  hastening  the  great  and  terrible  wrath  of  the  Lord. 

We  have  now  drawn  to  the  conclusion  of  our  Second  Period, 
the  women  of  Israel's  most  momentous  era :  the  delivery  and 
establishment  of  that  law,  which,  in  the  very  midst  of  revolu- 
tions, changes,  new  creeds,  and  their  awful  persecutions, — in  the 
very  midst  of  denial,  abuse,  and  heavy  darkness, — yet  remains 
the  hope,  the  guide,  the  protection,  the  defence,  the  elevation  of 
woman,  whatever  her  station,  whatever  her  country,  aye,  and 
whatever  her  creed  may  be ; — more  especially  the  blessed 
inheritance  of  the  females  of  that  people  on  whom  our  God  Him- 
self bestowed  it,  and  one,  therefore,  which  should  be  their  glory, 
their  privilege,  their  delight,  to  render  so  exalted,  by  their  indi- 
vidual and  national  conduct,  in  the  sight  of  a  Gentile  world, 
that  none  dare  fling  odium  on  the  female  Jewish  name,  or  seek 
to  heathenize  and  degrade  them. 

We  have  sought  to  bring  together  every  law  relative  to  wo- 
mau  ;  but  the  subject  is  so  momentous,  the  field  so  wide,  we 


PERIOD      II. MISOKLLANEOUS      LAWS.        201 

can  scarce  hope  we  have  accomplished  it  as  fully  as  we  could 
wish.  We  can  only  hope  and  pray,  that  a  perusal  of  these  pages 
may  lead  our  sisters  in  Israel  to  seek  their  foundation  yet  more 
earnestly  than  the  frail  supemtructure,  and  find  for  themselves, 
in  their  Bibles,  all  that  we  may  have  omitted,  or  failed  to  treat 
as  largely  as  we  might.  The  more  our  beautiful  law  is  studied, 
the  more  must  we  feel,  that,  as  women,  we  are  especially 
objects  of  the  Eternal's  loving  protection  and  care  ;  that  we  are 
privileged  in  every  feeling  as  well  as  every  act  to  come  to  Ilim, 
alike  in  thanksgiving  and  prayer ;  that  we  have  no  need  what- 
ever, in  obtaining  our  eternal  welfare,  for  the  aid  and  interfer- 
ence of  man.  The  more  we  study,  the  more  we  must  feel  that 
we  have,  as  women  of  Israel,  a  station  to  uphold  alike  before 
God  and  man ;  that  as  the  first,  the  only  people  to  whom  God 
Himself  deigned  to  provide  a  law,  we  should  be  the  very  first  in 
holiness,  purity,  spirituality,  and  divine  love,  amid  the  nations. 
We  may  be  captives,  we  may  be  awhile  under  the  Eternal's 
wrath,  but  that  truth  in  no  way  lessens  our  responsibility,  or 
diminishes  the  necessity  for  our  firmlj^  upholding  our  heavenly 
heritage  and  guiding  law.  We  may  be  captives,  but,  and  oh  ! 
let  the  blessed  truth  be  remembered  and  clasped  to  our  hearts, 
we  are  kot  cast  off.  Our  chastisement  is  not  the  sign  of 
divine  wrath  alone,  but  of  that  deep  love  which  punisheth  to 
save,  to  amend,  to  bring  back  to  the  blessed  paths  which  we 
have  deserted,  not  to  annihilate,  as  in  the  case  of  so  many  other 
nations.  Our  very  existence  through  so  many  centuries  of  dark- 
ness would  alone  prove  this,  even  had  we  not  the  whole  word  of 
God  to  assert  that  so  it  would  be.  Every  prophet  abounds  in 
the  divine  entreaty,  so  fraught  with  forbearing  love,  "  O  Israel, 
return  unto  the  Lord  thy  God  ;  why  hast  thou  fallen  by  thine 
iniquity  ?"  And  shall  we,  as  women,  reject  these  gracious  prof- 
fers ?  Oh,  let  us  indeed  ever  come  unto  the  Lord  our  God, 
and  make  manifest  to  the  Gentiles,  to  ourselves,  how  deeply, 
how  earnestly  we  feel,  that  alike  our  protection,  innocence, 
honor,  purity,  elevation,  all  that  can  make  life  dear  and  holy, 
all  that  is  provided  to  lighten  our  temporal  toil,  with  eternal 
hope  to  strengthen  our  weakness,  to  guide  our  daily  path,  and 
bless  our  daily  work,  is  of  the  Lord,  not  man.  That  every  pure 
throb  of  love,  every  sweet  tie  of  life,  every  aspiring  prayer  and 
grateful  thanksgiving,  comes  from  and  is  hallowed  by  Him,  who, 
in  His  deep  love,  entered  into  the  heart  and  home  of  woman, 


202  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

and  so  fenced  them  round  with  just  and  beautiful  laws,  that  it 
was  impossible  to  perform  a  single  duty,  social  or  domestic, 
parental,  filial,  conjuoal,  or  fraternal,  without  being  holy  unto  the 
Lord  !  Can  we  think  on  this  important  and  most  blessed  truth 
without  lifting  up  our  yearning  hearts  in  the  fervent  prayer  for 
that  guidance,  that  blessing,  which  will  enable  us  to  remember 
our  solemn  responsibility,  our  heavenly  heritage ;  and,  in  ths 
midst  of  captivity,  and  its  varied  ordeals  of  adversity,  stagnation, 
and  prosperity,  that  we  may  still  join  heart  to  heart  and  hand 
to  hand  in  the  persevering  effort  to  make  manifest  to  our  God, 
that  we  would  indeed  be  once  more  His  own,  and  to  the 
nations,  that,  cast  oft'  for  a  "  little  moment"  as  we  are,  we  aub 

STILL,  and  SHALL  EVER  BE,  the  CHOSEN  PEOPLE  of  the  LORD  ? 


THIRD     PERIOD 


CHAPTER  I. 


MIRIAM, 


Having  now  considered  the  law  of  God  under  all  its  various 
bearings  relative  to  woman,  it  only  remains  to  prove,  from  the 
female  characters  of  Scripture,  in  what  manner  that  law  was 
obeyed  ;  and  whether  it  be  possible  to  discover  any  trace  of 
statutes,  which,  in  direct  contradistinction  to  the  changeless  law 
of  the  Eternal,  tend  to  degrade,  instead  of  to  elevate,  the  fema'c 
character ;  or  whether  we  cannot  bring  forward  some  sufficiently 
convincing  arguments  in  favor  of  our  deeply  studied  theory, 
that  the  law  of  the  Eternal  is  explained,  by  its  practical  illustra- 
tion, through  the  whole  history  of  the  Bible. 

To  the  oralist,  or  non-oralist,  this  consideration  ought  to  be 
of  equal  weight.  Keeping  aloof  entirely  from  the  discussion 
which  has  of  late  too  painfully  agitated  the  whole  Jewish 
nation,  we  would  yet  present  to  both  parties  the  simple  fact, 
that  the  supposed  degradation  of  the  women  of  Israel  can  have 
no  existence  whatever  in  the  Oral  Law,  or  we  must  find  some 
trace  of  this  abasement  in  this  and  the  succeeding  periods  of  our 
history.  If  both  were  given  at  the  same  time,  the  women  of 
Israel  whom  we  are  about  to  bring  forward,  must  have  lived 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  both  ;  and  as  their  lives,  feelings,  and 
actions,  are  all  in  exact  accordance  with  the  spirit  and  the  form 
of  the  written  law,  it  is  clearly  evident,  that  the  modern 
accusation  against  us  can  have  no  foundation  whatever  in  the 
Oral  Law,  or  we  must  have  discovered  it  in  the  female 
characters  of  Scripture.  Nor  will  the  groundless  assertion  of 
our  individual  inferiority  and  social  abasement  find  confirmation 
in  the  writings  of  our  ancient  fathers,  whose  beautiful  parables 
and  tales  all  tend  to  illustrate  alike  the  spirit  of  our  law,  and 


204  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

the  axiom  of  our  wise  man,  "  Who  can  find  a  virtuous  woman, 
for  her  price  is  far  above  rubies  ?" 

We  will  proceed,  then,  without  further  introduction,  to  our 
history,  convinced  that  were  the  word  of  the  Eternal  more 
deeply  studied,  the  love  and  peace  it  breathes  must  infuse 
themselves  unconsciously  in  every  human  heart,  and  strife  and 
discord  melt  away  before  the  inspired  transcript  of  the  love  and 
mercy  of  our  God. 

The  character  of  Miriam  is  one  of  the  most  perfect  delinea- 
tions of  woman  in  her  mixed  nature  of  good  and  evil  which  the 
Bible  gives.  Her  fii'st  introduction  we  have  already  noticed — a 
young  girl,  watching,  at  the  command  of  her  mother,  the  fate 
of  the  ark  which  held  her  baby  brother,  and  boldly  addressing 
the  princess  of  Egypt  in  the  child's  behalf. 

Her  next  mention  is  her  sharing  the  holy  triumph  of  that 
brother,  and  responding,  with  apparently  her  whole  heart,  to 
the  song  of  praise  bursting  forth  from  the  assembled  Israehtes 
on  the  shores  of  the  Red  Sea.  "  And  Miriam  the  prophetess, 
the  sister  of  Aaron,  took  a  timbrel  in  her  hand,  and  all  the 
women  went  out  after  her,  with  timbrels,  and  with  dances. 
And  Miriam  answered  them,  Sing,  sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for  he 
hath  triumphed  gloriously,  the  horse  and  his  rider  hath  he 
thrown  into  the  sea." 

The  Hebrew  word,  i^^r'^O,  here  used,  and  translated  prophet- 
ess, means  also,  a  poetess,  and  the  wife  of  a  prophet,  and  is 
applied  sometimes  to  a  singer  of  hymns.  In  this  latter  mean- 
ing, and  perhaps,  also,  as  a  poetess,  it  must  be  applied  to 
Miriam,  as  she  was  neither  the  wife  of  a  prophet,  nor,  as  in  the 
case  of  Deborah,  and  afterwards  Huldah,  endowed  by  the 
Eternal  with  the  power  of  prophecy  itself.  She  appears  to 
have  been  one  of  those  gifted  beings,  from  whom  the  words  of 
sacred  song  flow  spontaneously.  The  miracles  performed  in 
their  very  sight  were  sufficient  to  excite  enthusiasm  in  a 
woman's  heart,  and  awaken  the  burst  of  thanksgiving  ;  and 
Miriam  might  have  fancied  herself  at  that  moment  as  zealous 
and  earnest  in  the  cause  of  God  as  she  appeared  to  be.  But 
for  true  piety,  something  more  is  wanted  than  the  mere 
enthusiasm  of  the  moment,  or  the  high-sounding  religion  of 
flowing  verse.  By  Miriam  not  being  permitted  to  enter  the 
promised  land,  it  is  evident  that  she   "  had  not  followed  the 


PERIOD      III.  MIRIAM.  205 

Lord  fully,"  but  had  probably  joined  in  the  rebellions  and 
murmurings  which  characterized  ahuost  the  whole  body  of  the 
Israelites  during  their  wanderings  in  the  wilderness.  The  very 
next  mention  of  her  after  her  song  of  praise,  is  her  presumptu- 
ous attack  upon  Moses,  and  daring  insult  to  the  power  of  the 
Lord,  contained  in  tlie  twelfth  chapter  of  Numbers.  Some 
chronologists  believe  tliis  incident  occurred  only  one  year  after 
the  passage  of  the  lied  Sea,  a  period  not  sufficiently  long  for 
circumstances  to  have  changed  the  character  of  Miriam  so  com- 
pletely, had  not  jealousy  and  presumption  been  secretly  inmates 
of  her  heart  before  ;  unknown,  perhaps,  even  to  herself,  for  how 
few  of  us  know  our  "  secret  sins,"  until  they  are  roused  into 
action  by  some  unlooked-for  temptation  in  an  unguarded 
moment,  and  we  are  startled  at  ourselves. 

The  feelings  of  Miriam,  recorded  in  this  chapter,  are  &," 
perfectly  accordant  with  woman's  nature,  that  surely  no 
woman  of  Israel  will  turn  from  it,  believing  the  length  of  time 
which  has  elapsed  removes  all  the  warning  which  it  should 
inculcate.  One  of  the  most  prominent  of  female  failings  is 
secret  jealousy,  quite  distinct,  however,  from  the  fearful  passion 
so  called.  We  allude  simply  to  that  species  of  secret  and  uncon- 
fessed  jealousy,  which  is  the  real  origin  of  detraction^  so  often, 
unhappily,  practised  by  woman  upon  woman.  We  are  not  now 
writing  of  any  class,  or  creed,  or  people  in  particular,  but  of 
women  in  general.  There  never  yet  was  gossip,  without  some 
species  of  detraction  spoken  or  implied  ;  and  never  yet  has 
detraction  been  probed  candidly  and  fairly  (disregarding  the 
pain  of  so  doing)  to  its  root,  without  being  traced  to  either 
jealousy  or  envy  of  some  quality,  or  possession,  of  the  more 
favored  being  so  unkindly  judged. 

Women,  and  single  women  more  especially,  are  more  liable 
to  petty  failings  than  men,  sim])Iy  because  they  have  less  to 
engross  their  minds,  and  less  of  consequence  to  employ  their 
hands.  Unless  taught  from  earliest  years  to  find  and  take 
pleasure  in  resources  within,  they  must  look  without,  and  busy 
themselves  with  the  characters,  and  conduct,  and  concerns  of 
their  neighbors.  Now  acknowledged  merit  to  such  characters 
gives  very  little  food  for  cosy  chat ;  it  wants  esprit,  and  so  they 
are  never  content,  till  something  doubtful  or  suspicious  is 
discovered,  or  supposed  to  be,  and  then  the  lovers  of  gossip 
may  be  found  in  full  conclave,  marvelling,  and  wondering,  and 


206  THE       "WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

turning,  and  twisting,  and  blaming,  and  pitying,  till  the  very 
object  of  such  animadversion  might  find  it  difficult  to  trace  of 
whom  they  speak,  and  know  infinitely  less  of  her  own  concerns, 
intentions,  and  feelings,  than  her  reporters. 

As  Miriam  acted,  so  would  most  women,  unenlightened  by 
that  pure  spirit  of  religious  love,  which  alone  can  conquer  the 
natural  inclination  towards  detraction,  and  subdue  secret  jealousy, 
by  making  us  aware  of  its  existence.  "  And  Miriam  and  Aaron 
spake  against  Moses,  because  of  the  Ethiopian  looman  whom  he 
had  married.''''  The  very  thing  to  arouse  jealousy  and  disturb- 
ance in  an  unenlightened  woman's  mind. 

Miriam  had  never  been  thrown  in  contact  with  her  sister-in- 
law  till  within  the  last  few  months  :  Moses  having  sent  his  wife 
for  safety,  with  his  two  sons,  to  her  father  Jethro,  during  the 
troubles  in  Egypt  and  their  subsequent  redemption.  From  the 
silence  with  regard  to  Zipporah,  we  are  led  to  infer  that  she  was 
a  woman  of  meek  and  retiring  habits,  but  of  course,  as  the  wife 
of  their  great  leader  Moses,  held  in  higher  repute  by  the  people 
than  his  sister.  And  this,  trifling  as  it  seems,  is  now,  as  it 
always  has  been,  a  trial  to  some  of  our  sex.  Few  single  women 
there  are  who  can  look  upon  the  elevation  of  a  brother's  wife 
■without  some  secret  feelings  of  pain,  which  will  be  subdued  and 
changed  into  warmest  affection,  or  gain  ascendency  and  violence, 
finding  vent  in  petty  malice  or  half-concealed  detraction,  accord- 
ino"  as  religion,  and  candor,  and  self-knowledge  are,  or  are  not, 
predominant  in  the  sister's  character.  Perhaps  it  is  hard,  in 
some  cases,  to  see  one  younger  and  fairer,  and  only  known  but 
a  few  years  or  months,  as  the  case  may  be,  usurp  entire  posses- 
sion of  a  beloved  brother's  heart ;  wherein  we,  who  have  been 
his  hand-in-hand  companions  fi'om  earliest  infancy,  must  now  be 
consent  with  but  a  very  secondary  place  ;  but  such  is  one  of  the 
many  trials  peculiarly  woman's, — permitted,  that  from  her  very 
loneliness  below,  she  may  look  above  for  that  fulness  of  love  and 
tenderness  for  which  she  yearns.  And  thrice  happy  is  that 
woman  who,  conscious  of  this,  can  yet  be  content  with,  and 
value  as  before,  the  love  her  brother  has  still  to  spare  for  her ; 
•who  will  so  subdue  natural  feeling  as  to  find  in  very  truth  a 
friend  and  sister  in  a  brother's  wife,  and  subjects  of  deepest  inter- 
est in  her  children. 

Miriam,  as  we  may  infer  from  her  punishment,  was  not  one 
of  these.     That  an  Ethiopian  should  be  raised  above  herself,  who 


PERIOD      III.  MIRIAM.  207 

was  a  daughter  of  Israel,  was,  to  one  of  her  evidently  proud 
spirit,  unendurable.  Unable,  however,  to  discover  aught  in 
Zipporah  herself  for  a  publicly-avowed  scorn,  she  sought  to  lessen 
the  holiness  and  greatness  of  her  brother,  by  daring  to  declare 
that  the  Lord  had  spoken  through  her  and  Aaron  also.  That 
this  jealousy  arose  because  of  the  "  Ethiopian  woman  whom  he 
had  married,"  Holy  Writ  itself  informs  us ;  and  from  Miriam's 
name  being  mentioned  before  that  of  Aaron,  and  yet  more,  from 
the  wrath  of  the  Lord  being  manifested  towards  her  alone,  it  is 
eviden^  that  hers  was  the  greater  sin.  Her  individual  assump- 
tion of  prophetic  power,  she  knew,  would  avail  her  nothing  ,  but, 
uniting  Aaron  in  the  declai'ation,  she  sought  to  make  it  appear 
that  God  had  breathed  His  spirit  into  every  member  of  Amram's 
family.  She  had  too  much  policy  to  endeavor  to  deprive  Moses 
of  all  his  granted  and  allowed  privileges.  Her  only  wish  was, 
to  decrease  the  value  and  spirituality  of  those  privileges  to  him 
individually,  and  elevate  herself  and  Aaron  on  his  descent; 
emboldened  so  to  do  by  the  excessive  meekness  and  forbearance 
of  Moses,  which  she  knew  would  shield  her  from  all  human 
reproof.  She  might,  perhaps,  have  so  dwelt  upon  her  own 
imaginary  importance,  as  really  to  believe  what  she  asserted, 
and  so  feel  more  and  more  galled  at  the  little  account  in  which  she 
was  held. 

It  is  quite  possible  for  woman  so  to  feel  and  so  to  act,  and  for 
all  to  proceed  from  the  petty  feelings  of  jealousy  and  malice, 
first  excited  by  the  higher  grade  and  more  considered  position 
of  a  brother's  wife.  "  Hath  the  Lord  indeed  spoken  onlj^  by 
Moses  ?  hath  he  not  spoken  also  by  us  ?"  were  the  words  they 
said ;  brief,  and  perchance  of  little  weight  considered  by  them- 
selves, but  in  a  people  ever  ready  to  revolt  and  murmur,  more 
than  likely  to  kindle  seaition  and  disturbance.  "  And  the  Lord 
heard  it,  and  the  Lord  spake  suddenly  unto  Moses,  and  unto 
Aaron,  and  unto  Miriam,  Come  out  ye  three  unto  the  taber- 
nacle of  the  congregation  :  and  they  three  came  out,  ani  tht 
Lord  came  down  in  the  pillar  of  the  cloud,  and  stood  in  the  door 
of  the  tabernacle,  and  called  Aaron  and  Miriam  ;  and  they  both 
came  forth." 

Where  now  could  have  been  the  presumptuous  self-import- 
ance of  Miriam,  called  thus  by  Him  at  whose  word  might  be 
annihilation  ?  With  what  fearful  terror  must  she  have  heard 
that  summons,  and  listened  to  the  reproving  words  of  the  Eter- 
10* 


208  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

Dal  ? — exalting  Moses  above  even  His  inspired  prophets ;  for  to 
them  He  declared  He  would  make  Himself  known  in  a  vision, 
and  speak  unto  them  in  a  dream,  "  but  my  servant  Moses  is  not 
so,  who  is  faithful  in  all  mine  house.  With  him  will  I  speak 
mouth  to  mouth,  even  apparently,  and  not  in  dark  speeches ; 
and  the  similitude  of  the  Lord  shall  he  behold  :  wherefore  then 
were  ye  not  afraid  to  speak  against  my  servant  Moses  ?  And  the 
anger  of  the  Lord  was  kindled  against  them  ;  and  He  departed. 
And  the  cloud  departed  from  off  the  tabernacle ;  and,  behold, 
Miriam  was  leprous,  as  snow :  and  Aaron  looked  upon  Miriam, 
and,  behold,  she  was  leprous." 

It  is  from  this  awful  chastisement,  inflicted  by  the  Lord  Him- 
self, that  we  must  judge  of  the  heinousness  of  her  sin  ;  that 
presumption  and  arrogancy  are  no  small  crimes  in  His  sight, 
and  that  God  Himself  was  insulted  in  the  insult  offered  to  His 
chosen  servant.  "  My  servant  Moses,"  He  ever  designates  him  ; 
implying  the  severest  reproof  in  those  simple  words.  Even  were 
they  endowed  with  prophetic  power,  He  tells  them  they  would 
be  less  than  Moses  ;  for  to  Moses  alone  would  He  deign  to  speak 
mouth  to  mouth.  Had  Miriam's  sin  been  but  the  impulse  of 
the  moment,  the  reproof  would  have  been  sufficient,  as  we  see 
in  other  cases  in  Scripture  ;  but,  effectually  to  root  out  the  sin- 
ful presumption  which  probably  had  lain  dormant  for  months, 
the  Eternal,  in  His  perfect  justice,  inflicted  such  chastisement  as 
would  cause  her  to  be  shunned  and  loathed  by  the  very  people 
whom  she  had  sought  to  impress  with  her  individual  importance. 
Human  reproof,  indeed,  she  had  not ;  for  Moses,  "  meek  above 
all  the  men  which  were  on  the  face  of  the  earth,"  had  not  even 
answered  the  detracting  words,  conscious  that  his  power  was  not 
his  own,  and  that  He  who  gave  it,  would,  if  needed,  appear  in 
his  defence.  Had  Miriam's  heart  been  perfect  towards  God, 
neither  her  sin  nor  her  punishment  would  have  taken  place.  Pride 
and  presumption  cannot  exist  with  true  piety ;  and  we  are  there- 
fore justified  in  supposing,  that  the  awful  infliction  was  not  only 
a  chastisement  for  present  sin,  but  to  awaken  her  to  all  the 
neglectfulness  and  presumption  dividing  her  from  the  Lord  in 
years  long  past.  She  was  now  not  only  to  feel  His  stupendous 
power,  but  the  true  forgiving  meekness  and  piety  of  the  brother 
she  had  scorned  and  spoken  against,  only  "  because  of  his  Ethio- 
pian wife." 

Stunned  and  appalled  with  the  suddenness  of  the  infliction. 


PERIOD      III.  MIRIAM.  209 

and  dumb  perhaps  from  awakening  shame,  Miriam  herself  stood 
silent  before  Moses  :  and  Aaron  therefore  appealed  for  her. 

"  Alas,  my  Lord,  I  beseech  thee,  lay  not  the  sin  upon  us, 
wherein  we  have  done  foolishly,  and  wherein  we  have  sinned. 
Let  her  not  be  as  one  dead,  of  whom  the  flesh  is  half  consum- 
ed as  in  the  moment  of  his  birth."  And  Moses,  without  pause, 
without  one  word  of  reproof,  or  just  indignation  at  being  thus 
appealed  to  by  the  very  persons  who  had  sought  to  injure  him, 
lifted  up  his  voice  in  earnest  prayer  unto  the  Lord,  saying, 
"  Heal  her  now,  O  God,  I  beseech  thee."  And  God  heard  the 
prayer,  and  in  His  infinite  goodness  so  answered  it,  as  to  temper 
justice  with  mercy,  promising  to  withdraw  His  hand  after  seven 
days,  during  which  time,  in  obedience  to  the  already  instituted 
laws  for  lepers,  she  was  to  be  shut  out  from  the  camp.  "  And 
the  people  journeyed  not  till  she  was  healed." 

As  there  is  no  further  mention  of  Miriam,  except  her  death, 
in  Numbers  xx.,  we  may  infer  that  her  chastisement  had  its  effect, 
and  that  her  haughty  and  seditious  spirit  was  sufficiently  subdued. 
We  learn,  from  her  brief  history,  much  to  guide  us  as  women  ia 
general,  and  much  to  support  our  position  as  women  of  IsraeL 
In  the  former,  we  see  in  what  light  presumption  is  regarded  by 
the  Lord — that  would  we  retain  His  favor,  we  must  be  content 
with  our  own  position,  and  in  no  way  interfere,  or  seek  to  depre- 
ciate those  whom,  even  in  our  own  families,  it  may  have  pleased 
Him  to  set  above  us  ;  that  even  from  so  small  a  beginning  as 
jealousy  of  a  brother's  wife,  simply  because  she  was  the  daughter 
of  a  stranger,  sin  gained  such  powerful  ascendency,  as  to  demand 
the  most  awful  punishment  for  its  subjection.  We  learn,  that 
according  to  the  nature  of  our  transgression,  so  will  be  its  chas- 
tisement. Miriam  sought  to  raise  herself  not  only  above  her 
brothel's  wife,  but  to  an  equality  with  that  brother  himself;  and, 
by  the  i'lifliction  of  a  loathsome  disease,  she  sank  at  once  below 
the  lowest  of  her  people.  No  one  dared  approach  her  ;  she  was 
cut  oti'even  from  employment,  from  every  former  object  of  inter- 
est, banished  from  the  camp  ;  and  she  would  have  thus  remained 
till  her  death,  had  not  Moses  interfered  to  beseech  and  obtain 
forgiveness. 

The  direct  interposition  of  the  Lord  in  punishing  sin,  and 
rewarding  virtue,  is  no  longer  visible  ;  but  few  who  study  His 
word,  their  own  hearts,  and  the  face  of  the  world,  both  past  and 
present,  will  not  acknowledge  that  He  is  still  the  same,  retri- 


210  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

buting  and  rewarding  as  when  His  ways  were  made  manifest  to 
all.  By  the  example  of  Scripture  characters,  He  reveals  to  us 
now  that  which  is  still  acceptable  or  unacceptable  to  Him.  Pre- 
sumption, jealousy,  the  scorn  of  individual  blessings,  in  the 
coveting  others,  may  no  longer  be  punished  by  leprosy,  but "  the 
Lord's  arm  is  not  shortened,"  and  He  may  afflict  us  in  a  variety 
of  ways,  and  through  the  very  feelings  which  we  so  sinfully 
encourage.  Let  us  beware,  then,  of  detraction,  of  jealousy,  of 
presumption  ;  for  our  Father  in  Heaven  abhors  these  things. 
Let  us  look  only  for  the  blessings  granted  us  individually,  in  our 
inward  and  outward  lot,  and  comparing  them  with  the  sorrow- 
ing and  afflicted,  bless  God  for  what  He  has  given  us  ;  not  insult 
Him,  by  looking  with  an  eye  of  envy  only  on  those  to  whom  His 
wisdom  has  given  more.  There  is  not  a  thought,  not  a  feeling, 
unknown  to  Him ;  and  oh  !  let  us  so  guard  our  hearts,  that  we 
may  be  aware  of  the  first  whispering  of  sin,  and  banish  it,  even 
if  it  be  in  seeming  but  a  thought. 

As  women  of  Israel,  the  history  of  Miriam  is  fraught  with 
particular  interest,  from  its  so  undeniably  proving  that  woman 
must  be  quite  as  responsible  a  being  as  man  before  the  Lord,  or 
He  certainly  would  not  have  deigned  to  appear  Himself  as  her 
judge.  Were  woman  unable  of  herself  to  eschew  sin,  Miriam's 
punishment  would  have  been  undoubtedly  unjust.  Nay,  were 
she  not  responsible  for  feelings,  as  well  as  acts,  God  would  not 
thus  have  stretched  forth  His  avenging  hand.  Her  feelings  had 
only  been  formed  into  words,  not  yet  into  actions  ;  still  the  Lord 
punished.  And  would  He  have  done  so,  did  he  not  wish  to 
make  manifest,  in  the  sight  of  the  whole  people,  that  both  sexes 
were  alike  before  Him  ?  Were  woman  in  a  degraded  position, 
Miriam,  in  tie  first  place,  would  not  have  had  sufficient  power 
for  her  seditious  words  to  be  of  any  consequence ;  and,  in  the 
next,  it  would  have  been  incumbent  on  man  to  chastise — there 
needed  no  interference  of  the  Lord.  We  see,  therefore,  the  very 
sinfulness  of  Jewish  women,  as  recorded  in  the  Bible,  is  unde- 
niable evidence  of  their  equality,  alike  in  their  power  to  subdue 
sin,  and  in  its  responsibility  before  God. 

That  the  Eternal  graciously  pardoned  at  the  word  of  Moses,  is 
no  proof  that  Miriam  needed  the  supplication  of  man  to  bring  her 
cause  before  the  Lord,  but  simply  that  forgiveness  and  interces- 
sion from  the  injured  for  the  injiirer,  are  peculiarly  acceptable  to 
Him,  and  will  ever  bring  reply.     Miriam  had  equal  power  to 


PERIOD      III. TABERNACLE      WORKERri.    211 

pray  and  be  heard,  as  Rebekah,  Hannah,  and  other  female  cha- 
racters of  Scripture  ;  but  her  punishment  was  no  doubt  to  be 
increased  by  the  painful  feelings  which,  if  she  were  not  quite 
hardened,  must  have  been  excited  by  the  appeal  of  Moses  in  her 
favor,  and  in  receiving  the  remission  of  her  sentence  through 
him.  It  at  once  proclaimed  his  power  with  the  Lord,  which  she 
had  sought  to  depreciate,  and  his  still  contiimed  aflectiuu  for 
herself.  That  the  whole  camp  of  Israel  should  halt  in  its  march 
seven  days  for  her  alone, — that  she  should  suffer  less  than  were  she 
sluit  out  from  her  fellows  in  the  act  of  travelling,  argues  pretty 
strongly,  tliat  her  being  a  woman  in  no  degree  lessened  her  impor- 
tance, or  rendered  the  men  of  Israel  less  careful  for  her  comfort. 
They  could  not  have  done  more,  had  the  chastised  been  Aaron 
in  her  sttad. 


CHAPTER  II. 

female     workers     of     the      tabeknacl  e. 

Caleb's     daughter. 

In  a  history  of  the  women  of  Israel,  we  must  not  forget  those 
who  are  mentioned  as  aiding  the  holy  work  of  the  tabernacle. 
Proclamation  was  made  throughout  the  camp,  that  every  man 
.and  woman  who  had  a  willing  heart  should  bring  an  offering 
unto  the  Lord,  either  of  gold,  silver,  or  brass,  blue,  purple,  and 
scarlet,  and  fine  linen,  and  goats'  hair,  and  oil,  and  spices,  and 
sweet  incense,  and  onyx  stones,  and  stones  of  all  kinds  ;  and 
that  every  one  who  was  wise-hearted  among  them  should  come 
and  make  all  that  the  Lord  had  commanded,  which  Moses  pro- 
ceeds to  enumerate  (see  Exod.  xxxv.  and  xxxvi.).  The  congre- 
gation then  departed  to  their  several  tents,  but  speedily  came 
every  one  ivhose  heart  stirred  him  up,  and  every  one  whom  his 
S2)irit  made  willing.  "  And  they  came,  both  men  and  women, 
as  many  who  were  willing-hearted,  and  brought  bracelets,  and 
earrings,  and  rings,  and  tablets  of  gold,"  &c.  "And  all  the  women 
who  were  wise-hearted  did  spin  with  their  hands,  and  brought 


212  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

that  which  they  had  spun,  both  of  blue,  and  of  purple,  and  ot 
scarlet,  and  of  tine  linen.  And  all  the  women  whose  heart  stirred 
them  vp  in  wisdom.,  spun  goats'  hair.  The  children  of  Israel 
brought  a  willing  offering  unto  the  Lord,  every  man  and  woman, 
whose  heart  made  them  willing."  In  such  quantities  were  these 
free  offerings,  that  another  proclamation  was  soon  made  ;  for 
"  they  spake  unto  Moses,  saying,  The  people  bring  much  more 
than  enough  for  the  service  of  the  work,  which  the  Lord  com- 
manded to  make.  And  Moses  gave  commandment,  and  they 
caused  it  to  be  proclaimed  throughout  the  camp,  saying.  Let 
neither  man  nor  ivoman  make  any  more  work  for  the  offering  of 
the  sanctuary.     And  the  peoi)lewere  restrained  from  bringing." 

We  have  quoted  all  these  verses,  at  the  risk  of  being  thought 
tedious,  on  account  of  the  very  important  truths  they  contain. 
In  the  first  place,  we  see  that,  notwithstanding  the  innumerable 
rebellions,  seditions,  and  murmurings  of  the  Israelites,  there  was 
still  a  vast  multitude,  whose  hearts  so  stirred  them  up  for  the 
service  of  the  Lord,  as  to  bring  more  valuable  offerings  than 
could  be  used.  In  the  text,  by  the  constant  allusion  to  the 
willinr/  hearted,  and  to  those  whose  spirits  made  them  willing, 
we  read,  that  only  those  gifts  were  acceptable  which  were  otiered 
from  the  heart.  No  mere  formal  profession  could  here  avail. 
The  spirit  within  was  to  be  the  prompter,  not  the  outward 
appearance.  In  the  third,  the  frequent  mention  of  the  wise- 
hearted,  or  those  whose  hearts  stirred  them  up  in  wisdom,  we 
learn,  from  the  context,  specified  more  especially  those  whom 
God  Himself  had  gifted  for  the  work  ;  and  that  all  those  arts  of 
engraving,  of  embroidery,  of  weaving,  of  cunning  work,  of  spin- 
ning, nay,  every  kind  of  male  and  female  work,  came  originally 
as  much  from  His  inspiration,  as  every  other  higher  branch 
usually  denominated  "  natural  gifts,"  "  talents,"  or  "  genius." 
Spinniiig,  weaving,  engraving,  and  embroidery,  are  now  so  com- 
mon, that  we  have  quite  forgotten  from  whose  inspiration  they 
originally  came ;  and  were  we  told  that  these  very  resources  of 
the  mind  and  fingers  should  be  amongst  the  innumerable  daily 
blessings  for  which  we  should  thank  God,  we  might  be  accused  of 
enthusiasm  and  religious  romance  ;  yet  who  can  read  this  chap 
ter  of  Exodus,  without  feeling  the  truth  of  our  position,  and 
bidding  the  heart  glow  with  thanksgiving  for  the  innocent  and 
happy  resources  of  daily  life  ? 

In  the  fourth  place,  by  both  proclamations  being  addressed  to 


PERIOD      III. TABERNACLE      WORKERS.     213 

WOMAN  as  well  as  man,  we  have  another  unanswerable  proof  of 
their  equality,  not  only  in  the  power  and  freedom  to  hnmr  ofter- 
ings,  but  in  their  being  equally  gifted  by  the  Eternal  for  the 
work.  We  peruse  with  admiration  the  self-devotion  of  the 
women  of  Carthage,  when  bringing  together  all  their  gold  and 
silver  ornaments  to  form  arms  for  the  defence  of  their  city,  even 
cutting  oft' their  hair  to  make  strings  for  bows  and  other  wea- 
pons ;  and  our  admiration  is  just :  but  how  much  more  strongly 
should  it  be  excited  towards  the  women  of  Israel  of  old,  who, 
from  pure  love  of  God,  and  zeal  in  His  holy  service,  brought  all 
their  ornaments,  bracelets,  earrings,  tablets,  rings,  jewels  of  gold 
and  silver,  every  article  of  value  which  they  could  collect,  and 
set  themselves,  heart  and  hand,  to  spin,  weave,  embroider,  and 
use  all  their  talents  in  His  service  by  whom  they  had  been 
bestowed.  The  women  of  Carthage  were  roused  by  a  sense  of 
rapidly  approaching  danger,  by  the  excitement  of  war,  by  that 
pure  love  of  home  and  land  which  God  has  implanted  in  every 
breast.  The  women  of  Israel  were  imder  no  excitement ;  nay, 
they  were  wandering  in  a  wilderness  fraught  with  much  to 
exhaust  and  weary  mere  human  nature,  however  the  immortal 
spirit  might  be  sustained  by  the  presence  and  revelation  of  the 
Lord.  Their  goal  was  in  perspective.  The  voice  of  murmuring, 
of  disbelief,  was  constantly  sounding  around  them.  "  Wherefore 
is  it,  that  thou  hast  brought  us  up  out  of  Egypt,  to  kill  us  and 
our  children  ?"  were  words,  not  once  nor  twice,  but  countless 
times  repeated,  with  every  new  trial  of  their  faith.  And  what 
is  so  infectious  in  a  "  mixed  multitude"  as  unbelief — ay,  even  in 
the  very  face  of  miracles  performed  in  their  behalf?  Yet,  at  the 
first  call,  there  were  still  very  many  wise  and  willing-hearted  to 
come  fo.ward.  The  women  of  Carthage  were  actuated  by  the 
mere  feelings  of  humanity,  by  palpable  danger,  by  the  clearly 
traced  issue  of  their  efforts.  The  women  of  Israel  worked 
through  FAITH.  Hoping  for  no  earthly  reward,  seeking  no 
worldly  glory,  sacrificing  ornaments  most  prized  (for  dress,  as 
we  shall  presently  see,  was  considered  rather  too  much  than  too 
little  by  our  ancestors),  knowing  that  once  given  they  could  not 
be  recalled,  keeping  neither  time  nor  talent  back,  but  using  both 
perseveringly  and  indiscriminately,  and  all  simply  and  solely  out 
of  pure  love  to  God. 

There  is  something  both  beautiful  and  consoling  in  this  por- 
tion of  our  history.     It  informs  us,  that  in  the  very  midst  of 


214  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

constant  rebellions  and  constant  fallings  away,  there  were,  and 
will  always  be  found,  many  to  love  and  serve  their  God.  That 
He  will  never  leave  Himself  without  witnesses  upon  earth ;  and 
that,  therefore,  however  we  may  mourn  the  lack  of  energy  and 
spirituality  in  Israel — however  we  ma}^  grieve  and  deiilore  the 
cases  of  infidelity  or  indifference,  or  even  direct  departures  from 
His  most  Holy  Law — still  God  is  with  us  to  retain  many  an 
unsuspected  one  in  fidelity  and  zeal.  Despondency,  even  in  His 
cause,  is  more  than  wrong ;  it  is  sinful,  for  it  doubts  Him  who 
is  so  strong  to  save  ;  whose  word  is  passed,  that  "  Israel  shall 
never  cease  to  be  a  nation  before  Him  ;"  and  who,  even  from 
the  deepest  darkness,  can  and  will  bring  forth  light.  It  causes 
feelings  towards  our  fellows,  both  of  injustice  and  pain  ;  and  in 
ourselves  deadens  every  effort  after  holiness  and  righteousness, 
by  the  supposition,  that  the  struggles  of  one  individual  must  be 
all  in  vain.  Despondency  treads  so  closely  upon  indifference, 
that  every  effort  should  be  put  in  force  to  prevent  its  ascendency. 
We  cannot  have  faith  either  in  God  or  man  if  we  despond,  and 
thus  we  are  gradually  led  into  sin,  alike  against  our  Father  in 
Heaven,  our  brother  man,  and  ourselves. 

To  us  as  women,  the  particular  mention  of  our  female  ances- 
tors, as  bringing  offerings  and  working  for  the  tabernacle,  ia 
inexpressibly  consoling.  It  assures  us  that,  lowly  as  we  are, 
retired  as  is  our  natural  sphere,  incapable  as  is  our  weaker 
frame  for  the  exertions  of  man  in  the  Lord's  service,  still 
we  are  acceptable — still  He  will  graciously  look  down  on  our 
"  willing  hearts,"  and  the  humble  work  of  our  hand,  and  bless 
them  with  such  love,  as  will  give  us  peace  even  upon  earth.  It 
tells  us,  that  from  Him  comes  every  employment  and  resouice, 
ahke  of  mind  and  hand  ;  and  that,  in  consequence,  all  should 
be  used  to  His  glory ;  not,  indeed,  for  the  service  of  the  taber- 
nacle, for  we  are  not  now  so  called  upon  to  work,  but  in  the 
happiness  which  His  gifts  should  bestow  upon  ourselves  and 
our  fellow-creatures.  Had  we  but  these  two  chapters  in  our 
Holy  Law,  we  should  have  sufficient  to  confirm  our  spiritual 
privileges  ; — that  our  Father  asks  but  a  willing  spirit,  a  heart 
that  is  stirred  within  us  to  do  His  service,  whatever  it  may  be, 
to  resign  whatever  He  may  call ;  but  it  must  be  a  willing 
heart :  mere  lip-service  is  mockery  and  sin.  Let  it  not  be  said 
that  the  Jewish  religion  is  a  religion  of  mere  form,  incumbent 
only  on  the  males,  and  therefore  debarring  woman  from  all 


PERIOD    III.  —  Caleb's    daughter.      215 

relif^ious  exercises,  all  access  to  God.  Bid  those  who  throw 
such  foul  wrong  on  Israel,  come  hither  to  the  pure  unadulterated 
fount  of  the  Living  God,  and  then  say,  if  the  religion  of  the 
Nazarene  were  the  fird,  and  only  one,  to  teach  woman  her 
holy  privileges,  and  to  preach  that  pure  spiritual  piety  of  the 
heart,  that  simple  working  through  faith,  which  is  revealed  so 
blessedly  in  our  Law,  and  confirmed  by  every  inspired  prophet 
of  the  Lord.  And  that  religion  of  the  heart  is  ours  still.  We 
need  no  other  to  replace  it. 

The  age  of  chivalry  is  generally  supposed  to  be  a  powerful 
proof  of  the  respect  and  consideration  with  which  women  were 
regarded  amongst  the  Gentile  nations  during  the  middle  ages. 
Their  position  was  marked ;  their  love,  their  hand,  the  greatest 
reward,  the  most  powerful  incentive  for  the  young  warrioi-s  to 
distinguish  themselves.  Marvellous  deeds  were  done,  and  dan- 
gers dared,  all  for  the  smiles  of  woman  ;  nay,  evil  passions 
were  often  subdued  :  generosity,  magnanimity,  kindness,  and 
many  other  virtues,  were  called  into  play  by  woman's  influence, 
without  which  those  ages  would  have  been  dark  indeed.  Her 
individual  position  might  have  been  too  elevated ;  but  still,  that 
elevation  was  far  more  often  used  for  good  than  evil.  Chivalry 
did  bring  forth  good  with  regard  to  woman's  influence  on  man, 
and  no  one  assuredly  will  deny,  but  that  to  have  been  held  up 
as  the  rewarder  of  valor,  the  incentive  of  virtue,  must  have 
made  her  a  subject  of  consideration,  respect,  and  love,  very 
diflferent  to  slavery  and  degradation. 

Now,  the  very  first  instance  of  chivalry  which  history  records,  is 
found  in  the  Bible,  and  in  the  history  of  that  very  people  to  whose 
women  similar  privileges  are  denied.  "  And  Caleb  said,  he 
that  smiteth  Kirjath-sepher  [also  called  Debir],  and  taketh  it, 
to  him  will  T  give  Achsah  my  daughter  to  wife.  And  Othniel, 
the  son  of  Kenaz,  Caleb's  younger  brother,  took  it :  and  he 
gave  hira  Achsah  his  daughter  to  wife.  And  it  came  to  pass, 
as  she  came  unto  him,  she  moved  him  to  ask  of  her  father  a 
field ;  and  she  lighted  off"  her  ass  ;  and  Caleb  said  unto  her, 
What  wouldst  thou  ?  and  she  said  unto  him.  Give  me  a  bless- 
ing ;  for  thou  hast  given  me  a  south  land  ;  give  me  also  springs 
of  water.  And  Caleb  gave  her  also  the  upper  springs  and  the 
nether  springs,"  We  find  all  these  verses,  first  in  Joshua  xv. 
16-19,  and  repeated  without  any  variation  in  Judges  i.  12-15. 


216  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

Calfb  was  a  prince  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  (Numb.  xiii.  6),  so 
high  in  favor  with  the  Lord,  as  to  be  joined  with  Josliua  in 
beinir  permitted  to  enter  the  promised  land,  and  desio-nated  by 
the  Eternal  as  "  My  servant  Caleb,  who  hath  followed  me 
fully." 

Caleb  seems  to  have  been,  like  Joshua,  a  prince  and  warrior 
of  high  repute,  dauntless,  and  faithful  before  God  and  before 
man.  His  daughter  (though  not  an  only  child,  for  we  read  in 
1  Chron.  iv.  15,  that  he  had  also  three  sons)  shared  the  con- 
sideration proffered  to  her  father.  Caleb  must  have  seen  the 
high  respect  and  admiration  in  which  she  was  held,  or  he 
never  would  have  dreamed  of  offering  her  as  the  reward  of 
valor.  That  which  is  of  no  value,  lightly  won,  and  lightly 
held,  and,  when  obtained,  to  sink  merely  into  a  household 
slave,  was  not  at  all  likely  to  excite  young  men  to  the  arduous 
task  of  smiting  and  taking  a  fortified  city,  defended  as  it  was 
by  the  sons  of  Anak,  whose  immense  stature  and  extraordinary 
prowe^s  had  formerly  caused  them  to  be  considered  as  "giants," 
in  whose  sight  the  children  of  Israel  were  but  as  "  grass- 
hoppers." Nor  can  we  regard  this  as  merely  a  solitary  instance  : 
it  is  a  proof  of  the  general  condition  of  Hebrew  women  at  that 
period  ;  and  also  that  Othniel  was  not  Achsah's  only  admirer. 

"  He  that  smitelli  and  taketh  it,  to  him  will  I  give  AcLsah 
my  daughter  to  wife,"  is  a  general  appeal,  supposing  her  hand 
to  be  a  sufficient  incentive  to  all  the  young  men  of  the  tribe  ; 
and  that  His  Law,  regarding  the  inheritance  of  daughters, 
should  not  be  transgressed,  the  Eternal  blessed  the  valiant 
efforts  of  Othniel,  Caleb's  own  nephew,  with  success ;  and  the 
coveted  maiden  became  his  wife. 

That  it  was  solely  Achsah  herself  who  was  sought  and  won, 
with  no  idea  of  her  wealth,  is  clearly  proved  by  the  simple 
words  "  she  moved  him  [her  husband]  to  ask  of  her  father,  a 
field  or  piece  of  land  ;"  the  wish  for  possession  came  from  her, 
not  from  Othniel,  who  was  in  all  probability  fully  satisfied  with 
the  recompense  he  had  gained  ;  and  when  Caleb  had  granted 
this  request,  as  we  know  by  the  words  in  which  she  afterwards 
addresses  him,  she  approached  him  herself,  ;ind  lighting  off  her 
ass,  a  token  of  the  respect  natural  to  Israel,  Caleb  asked  her, 
"  What  wilt  thou  ?"  and  she  answered  him,  "  Give  me  a  bless- 
ing :"  meaning,  possibly,  a  further  token  of  his  love  for  her ; 


PERIOD    III.  —  Caleb's    daughter.       217 

"  for  thou  hast  given  me  a  south  land  [alluding  to  that  already 
given  at  Othniel's  request],  give  rae  also  springs  of  water  :  and 
Caleh  gave  her  the  upper  and  the  nether  springs." 

Without  springs,  land,  in  so  hot  a  country  as  Judea,  was  of 
little  value  ;  and  therefore  is  it  that  Achsah  craves  this  boon  in 
addition  to  that  already  granted.  The  affectionate  confidence 
subsisting  between  the  father  and  daughter  is  beautifully  illus- 
trated in  this  simple  little  incident.  Though  Achsah  held  her 
father  in  such  respect  as  not  to  prefer  her  request  while  sitting 
on  her  ass  before  him,  yet  she  feared  not  to  make  her  wishes 
known,  fully  conscious  that,  were  they  in  his  power,  he  would 
grant  them  unhesitatingly  ;  and  his  instant  reply  proves  how 
much  reason  she  had  for  her  confidence. 

We  learn  too  from  this,  that  woman  must  undoubtedly  have 
had  the  power  of  possessing  landed  property  in  her  own  right, 
and  in  a  degree  exclusive  of  her  husband  ;*  else  Caleb  would 
have  made  over  the  portion  intended  for  her  to  Othniel  on  his 
marriage,  instead  of  waiting  for  Achsah  to  ask,  and  granting  it 
to  her  alone. 

The  beautiful  law  of  our  God  was  then  in  full  force  among 
every  rank  and  condition  of  man ;  and  surely  we  can  find  no 
trace  in  the  history  of  Achsah  to  confirm  the  false  position  of 
our  being  degraded.  Does  it  not  rather  elevate  us  to  a  perfect 
equality  with  our  brother  man,  and  prove  undeniably  that  the 
Israelites  were  the  very  first  nation  in  the  world  to  hold  forth 
the  love  and  hand  of  woman  as  the  pure  and  holy  incentive  to 
deeds  of  manliness  and  valor  ? 

*  And  exclusive  also  of  her  brothers ;  for  if  landed  inheritance  were 
to  be  maa's  only,  she  could  have  had  no  claim  to  any  portion.  The  above 
was  written  originally,  under  the  impression  that  Achsah  was  Caleb's 
only  child  :  a  further  study  of  the  genealogies  in  Chronicles  proves  that 
she  was  not. 


218  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 


CHAPTER    III. 

DEBORAH. 

The  promised  land  was  gained,  deeds  of  extraordinary  valor 
and  military  skill  and  prowess  marked  its  conquest  and  subdi- 
vision ;  but  God's  express  command  was  disobeyed  ;  and,  in 
consequence,  the  tribes,  even  after  they  hsd  settled  in  their 
respective  territories,  were  continually  "  doing  evil  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord,"  and  at  war,  as  a  chastisement,  with  their  idola- 
trous neighbors.  God  had  ordained  the  extermination  of  the 
former  inhabitants  of  Palestine,  because  of  their  fearful  state  of 
idolatry,  and  various  abominations.  He  had  deferred  bringing 
in  the  seed  of  Abraham  to  their  appointed  land,  because  "  the 
iniquity  of  the  Amorites  was  not  yet  full."  He  might  in  His 
wisdom  have  exterminated  them  by  fire,  water,  or  disease  ;  but 
He  appointed  the  swords  of  the  Israelites  as  the  instruments  of 
His  wrath,  simply  to  try  their  faith  and  obedience,  and  bid 
them  earn  the  rest,  peace,  spiritual  and  temporal  glory,  which 
he  had  held  forth  as  the  recompense  of  perfect  obedience. 

This  fact  is  very  frequently  disregarded  in  a  mere  superficial 
reading  of  the  history  of  Canaan.  There  are  those  even  to 
doubt  and  cavil  at  the  ways  of  their  God,  because  He  com- 
manded His  people  to  obtain  possession  of  the  promised  land 
at  the  edge  of  the  sword ;  forgetting  that  so  doing  was  at  once 
a  punishment  for  those  who  had  insulted  Him  by  their  awful 
iniquities  (having  full  power  to  subdue  sin,  and  keep  in  the 
.straight  path,  as  did  the  inhabitants  of  Mesopotamia  even  with- 
out direct  revelation),  and  also  to  try  the  obedience  of  His 
people.  Disease,  fire,  or  flood,  would  have  accomplished  the 
first  of  these  designs  equally  with  the  plan  adopted  ;  but  not 
the  second.  Yet  the  former  would  at  once  have  been  recognised 
as  the  hand  of  God  ;  no  one  questioning  the  agency  of  either  the 
deluge,  the  destruction  of  Sodom,  or  the  earthquake  and  the 
plague,  punishing  the  rebellion  of  Korah.  Why  then  should 
not  the  sword  of  slaughter  be  traced  to  the  same  Divine  ordina- 
tion, whence  alone  in  fact  it  proceeded  ? 


PERIOD      III.  —  DEBORAH.  219 

The  Israelites,  however,  failed  in  their  commanded  obedience. 
Instead  of  exterminating,  they  entered  into  friendly  leagues  with 
the  enemies  and  insulters  of  their  God;  and  the  Eternal,  in  His 
just  anger,  permitted  them,  in  consequence,  to  remain  as 
"  thorns,  and  pricks  in  their  sides,  and  their  false  gods  as  a  snare 
unto  them."  And  so  it  was :  "  They  took  their  daughters  to 
be  their  wives,  and  gave  their  daughters  to  their  sons,  and 
served  their  gods  ;  and  the  children  of  Israel  did  evil  in  the 
sight  of  God,  and  forgat  the  Lord  their  God,  and  served  Baalim 
and  the  groves."  And  this  fearful  state  of  things  occurred 
repeatedly ;  rousing  the  anger  of  the  Lord  each  time  to  sell 
them  into  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  and  yet  whenever  they 
cried  unto  Him  in  returning  faith  and  repentance.  His  infinite 
mercy  raised  up  deliverers  in  whom  He  put  His  spirit,  and 
saved  them. 

Othniel,  the  nephew  and  son-in-law  of  Caleb,  Ehud,  and 
Sharagar,  had  each  in  his  turn  been  thus  selected  by  the  Lord ; 
and  during  their  respective  sways  Israel  was  at  rest  and  obedi- 
ent. But  between  each,  they  had  relapsed  into  idolatry  and 
rebellion  ;  and  after  the  deaths  of  Ehud  and  Shamgar,  who 
appear  contemporaries,  falling  anew  into  evil,  the  Eternal  sold 
them  into  the  hands  of  Jabin,  king  of  Hazor,  who  mightily 
oppressed  them  twenty  years,  and  caused  them  again  to  cry  unto 
the  Lord. 

But  even  in  these  periods  of  anarchy  and  rebellion,  all  were 
not  idolatrous.  There  must  still  have  been  many  "  seven 
thousands  who  had  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal,"  else  would 
net  the  Lord  have  thus  repeatedly  compassionated  and  relieved 
them.  Amongst  these  faithful  few,  the  law  was  of  course 
followed,  and  the  people  judged  according  to  the  statutes  given 
through  Moses.  Had  there  been  the  very  least  foundation  for 
the  supposition  of  the  degrading  and  heathenizing  the  Hebrew 
female,  we  should  not  find  the  offices  of  prophet,  judge,  military 
instructor,  poet,  and  sacred  singer,  all  combined  and  all  perfected 
in  the  person  of  a  woman  ;  a  fact  clearly  and  almost  startlingly 
illustrative  of  what  must  have  been  their  high  and  intellectual 
training,  as  well  as  natural  aptitude  for  guiding  and  enforcing 
the  statutes  of  their  God,  to  which  at  that  time  woman  could 
attain. 

"  And  Deborah,  a  prophetess,  the  wife  of  Lapidoth,  she 
judged  Israel  at  that  time.     And  she  dwelt  under  the  palm 


220  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

tree  of  Deborah,  between  Ramah  and  Bethel,  in  Mount 
Ephraira  :  and  the  children  of  Israel  came  unto  her  for  judg- 
ment." This  simple  description  evinces  that  the  greatness  of 
Deborah  consisted  not  at  all  in  outward  state,  in  semblance  of  high 
rank,  or  in  any  particular  respect  or  homage  outwardly  paid 
her;  but  simply  in  her  vast  superiority  of  mental  and  spiritual 
acquirements  which  were  acknowledged  by  her  countrymen, 
and  consequently  revered.  The  office  of  judge  in  Israel  was  not 
hereditary.  It  only  devolved  on  those  gifted  to  perform  it : 
and,  by  the  example  before  us,  might  be  held  by  either  sex: 
rather  an  unsatisfactory  proof  of  the  degradation  of  Jewish 
women.  We  are  expressly  told  that  Deborah  was  a  prophetess, 
and  "  the  wife  of  Lapidoth."  Now,  by  the  arrangement  of  this 
sentence,  confirmed  by  the  context,  it  is  very  evident  that 
Deborah  was  a  prophetess  in  her  own  person,  wholly  and 
entirely  distinct  from  her  husband,  who  was  a  mere  cypher  in 
public  concerns.  The  Eternal  had  inspired  her,  a  woman  and 
a  WIFE  in  Israel,  with  His  spirit  expressly  to  do  His  will,  and 
make  manifest  to  her  countrymen  how  little  is  He  the  respecter 
of  persons  ;  judging  only  by  hearts  perfect  in  His  service,  and 
spirits  willing  for  the  work  :  heeding  neither  the  weakness  nor 
apparent  inability  of  one  sex,  compared  with  the  greater  natural 
powers  of  the  other. 

Yet  so  naturally  are  her  public  position  and  personal  gifts 
described,  that  we  cannot  possibly  believe  her  elevation  to  be 
an  exti'aordinary  occurrence,  or  that  her  position  as  a  wife  for- 
bade her  rising  above  mere  conjugal  and  household  duties. 
We  never  hear  of  a  slave,  or  leper,  or  heathen,  being  intrusted 
with  the  prophetic  spirit  of  the  Eternal,  simply  because  the 
social  condition  of  such  persons  would  and  must  prevent  their 
obtaining  either  the  respect,  obedience,  or  even  attention  of  the 
people.  For  the  same  reason,  had  woman  really  been  on  a 
par  with  these,  as  she  is  by  some  declared  to  be,  she  would 
never  have  been  intrusted  with  gifts  spiritual  and  mental, 
which  Deborah  so  richly  possessed.  She  never  could  have  been 
a  prophetess,  for  her  words  would  only  have  been  regarded  as 
idle  raving.  She  could  never  have  been  a  judge,  from  the  want 
of  opportunities  to  train  and  perfect  her  intellect,  and  to  obtain 
the  necessary  experience.  Now  it  is  clear  that  instead  of  this, 
her  natural  position  must  have  been  so  high,  that  there  needed 
not  even  adventitious  state  and  splendor  to  make  it  acknow- 


PERIOD      III. DEBORAH.  221 

ledged  ;  and  lier  intellect  and  judgment  so  cultivated,  as  not 
only  to  bring  tlie  people  flocking  to  her  for  judgment,  but  to 
occasion  Barak's  refusal  to  set  out  on  a  warlike  expedition 
unless  she  accompanied  them. 

We  find  the  Srst  recorded  instance  of  her  using  her  pro- 
phetic power  in  Judges  iv.  6  :  "  And  she  sent  and  called  Barak 
the  son  of  Abinoam  out  of  Kedesh  Naphtali,  and  said  unto 
him,  Hath  not  the  Lord  God  of  Israel  commanded,  saying,  Go 
and  draw  toward  Mount  Tabor,  and  take  with  thee  ten  thou- 
sand men  of  the  children  of  Naphtali  and  the  children  of 
Zebulun  ?  And  I  will  draw  unto  thee  Sisera,  the  captain  of 
Jabin's  army,  and  his  chariots  and  his  multitudes  ;  and  1  will 
deliver  him  into  thine  hand.  And  Barak  said  unto  her.  If 
thou  wilt  go  with  me,  then  I  will  go :  but  if  thou  wilt  not  go 
with  me,  then  will  I  not  go.  And  she  said,  I  will  surely  go 
with  thee  :  notwithstanding  the  journey  shall  not  be  for  thine 
honor  ;  for  the  Lord  will  sell  Sisera  into  the  hand  of  a 
woman." 

We  should  be  at  a  loss  to  understand  the  feeling  in  Barak, 
which  impelled  his  reply,  might  we  not  infer  it  from  Deborah's 
rejoinder.  It  would  appear  that,  like  many  of  his  countrymen, 
while  he  obeyed,  he  was  still  wanting  in  the  perfect  faith  which 
would  have  given  him  a  glorious  triumph  in  his  own  person. 
The  presence  of  Deborah  could  in  no  way  give  him  greater 
increase  of  safety  and  glory,  than  had  he  gone  without  her. 
She  was  but  the  instrument  of  the  Lord,  making  His  will 
known  to  her  fellows.  The  words  were  not  hers,  but  God's  ; 
and  Barak  should  have  acted  on  them  without  either  reserva- 
tion or  doubt.  Instead  of  which  we  find  him  making  a  condi- 
tion to  his  obedience  ;  and  refusing  to  obey,  if  that  condition 
were  not  complvrl  with.  What  could  the  presence  of  a  woman 
avail  him  ?  Her  being  a  prophetess  gave  him  no  more  assur- 
ance of  conquest  than  the  word  of  the  Lord  had  already  done  ; 
and  because  he  trusted  more  in  the  woman  than  in  her  God,  the 
journey  would  not  be  to  his  honor  ;  a  ivomans  hand  should 
accomplish  that  complete  downfall  of  Sisera,  which  would  other- 
wise have  accrued  to  his  individual  glory.  It  is  evident  that 
this  is  the  real  rendering  of  this  rather  obscure  sentence,  else 
we  should  not  have  it  so  expressly  stated  that  the  "journey 
would  not  be  for  his  honor." 

Deborah  however  arose,  and  went  with  Barak,  first  to  collect 


222  THE      WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

the  necessary  troops  from  Zebulun  and  Naphtali,  and  then  to 
Mount  Tabor,  where  Sisera  and  his  immense  armament  of  nine 
hundred  chariots  of  iron,  besides  infantry,  marched  to  meet 
them.  Still  we  find  Barak  but  secondary,  doing  nothing  with- 
out the  word  of  the  Lord  through  Deborah.  And  Deborah 
said,  "  Up !  for  this  is  the  day  in  which  the  Lord  hath  dehvered 
Sisera  into  thine  hand  :  is  not  the  Lord  gone  out  before  thee  ? 
So  Barak  went  down  from  Mount  Tabor,  and  ten  thousand 
men  after  them  ;"  and  the  Lord  gave  them  such  complete 
victory,  that  but  Sisera  escaped,  to  receive  his  death  at  the  hand 
of  a  woman,  according  to  the  Eternal's  word.  Nor  was  it 
a  single  victory,  for  "  the  hand  of  the  children  of  Israel  pros- 
pered and  prevailed  against  Jabin,  king  of  Canaan." 

We  next  find  Deborah  exercising  that  glorious  talent  of 
extempore  poetry  only  found  amongst  the  Hebrews  ;  and  by 
her,  a  woman  and  a  wife  in  Israel,  possessed  to  an  almost  equal 
degree  with  the  Psalmist  and  prophets,  who  followed  at  a  later 
period.  Her  song  is  considered  one  of  the  most  beautiful  speci- 
mens of  Hebrew  poetry,  whether  read  in  the  original,  or  in  the 
English  version.  We  find  her  taking  no  glory  whatever  to 
herself,  but  calling  upon  the  princes,  and  governors,  and  people 
of  Israel,  to  join  with  her  in  "  blessing  the  Lord  for  the  aveng- 
ing of  Israel."  In  the  fourth  and  fifth  verses,  she  alludes,  by  a 
most  beautiful  figure,  to  the  power  of  the  Eternal.  That  before 
Him  "  the  earth  trembled,  and  the  heavens  dropped,  and  the 
clouds  dropped  water.  And  the  mountains  trembled,  even 
Sinai,  before  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,"  thus  manifesting  that  his 
power,  not  man's,  had  brought  delivery  to  Israel.  Then  in  the 
sixth  and  eighth  verses  she  describes  the  condition  of  the  people 
before  she  arose  a  mother  in  Israel ;  that  they  were  compelled 
to  travel  in  by-paths,  because  of  the  high  roads  all  being  occu- 
pied by  their  foes ;  and  from  the  villages  all  the  inhabitants 
had  ceased,  from  their  being  continually  exposed -undefended 
to  the  enemy.  Nor  was  there  a  shield  or  spear  seen  in  the 
forty  thousand  of  Israel.  The  simplicity  and  lowliness  of  the 
prophetess's  natural  position,  is  beautifully  illustrated  by  the 
term  she  applies  to  herself — neither  princess,  nor  governor,  nor 
judge,  nor  prophetess,  though  both  the  last  offices  she  fulfilled 
— "  until  that  I,  Deborah,  arose,  until  I  arose  a  mother  in 
Israel."  She  asked  no  greater  honor  or  privilege  for  herself 
individually,  than  the  being  recognised  as  the  mother  of  the 


PtRlOU       111. DEBORAH.  223 

people  whom  the  Lord  alone  had  endowed  her  with  power  to 
judge.  "  My  heart  is  towards  the  jyovernors  of  Israel,"  she 
continues,  "  that  offered  themselves  wilhiiyly  among  the  people. 
Bless  ye  the  Lord,"  meaning  those  who,  rising  from  the  idolatry 
and  sloth  which  had  encompassed  the  people,  oflered  themselves 
willingly  for  the  service  of  the  Lord.  She  bills  them  speak, — 
all  classes  of  people, — from  those  princes  who  rode  on  white 
asses,  and  those  who  sat  in  judgment,  and  those  who  walked 
by  the  way,  to  even  the  drawers  of  water  who  had  before  been 
harassed  by  the  noise  of  the  archers  coming  forcibly  to  disturb 
their  domestic  employments  ;  and  all  were  to  rehearse  the 
righteous  acts  of  the  Lord,  for  to  Him  alone  they  owed  their 
preservation.  "The  Lord  made  me  have  dominion  over  the 
mighty,"  she  says,  in  verse  thirteen,  thus  retaininjr  her  own 
dignity  and  power  in  Israel,  yet  tracing  it  to  the  Eternal,  not  to 
herself.  The  poetry  describing  the  downfeU  of  their  foes,  call- 
ing forth  the  imagery  of  nature  to  give  it  force  and  life  ;  the 
death  of  Sisera,  and  the  waiting  and  watching  of  his  mother  at 
her  lattice — "  Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in  coming  ?  why 
tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariots  ?"  and  the  answer,  alike  from 
her  ladies,  and  her  own  heart,  "  Have  they  not  sped  ?  have 
they  not  divided  the  prey ;  to  every  man  a  damsel  or  two  ;  to 
Sisera  a  ])rey  of  divers  colors,  a  prey  of  divers  colors  of  needle- 
work, meet  for  the  necks  of  them  that  take  the  spoil  V  as  if  to 
fail  with  his  mighty  armament  were  impossible  ;  and  thus  sung 
by  the  lips  of  the  conquerors,  infused  with  a  species  of  satire, 
giving  indescribable  poignancy  to  the  strain ;  and  then  the 
glorious  conclusion,  "  So  let  all  thine  enemies  perish,  0  Lord  : 
but  let  them  that  love  thee  be  as  the  sun  when  he  goeth  forth 
in  his  might ;"  form  altogether  one  of  the  sublimest  strains  of 
spiritual  fervor  in  the  Bible  ;  and  mark  forcibly,  by  her  conduct, 
both  as  prophetess  and  judge,  that  in  Deborah,  even  as  in 
Gideon,  David,  and  the  prophets  of  later  years,  God  disdained 
not  to  breathe  His  spirit,  but  made  a  woman  His  instrument  to 
judge,  to  prophesy,  to  teach,  and  to  redeem. 

"  And  the  land  had  rest  forty  years,"  we  are  told  at  the  con- 
clusion of  Deborah's  song ;  words  which,  as  no  other  judge  is 
mentioned,  would  lead  us  to  infer  that  Deborah  continued 
"  a  mother  in  Israel"  all  that  time,  retaining  the  people  in 
fidelity,  and  consequently  in  temporal  and  spiritual  peace. 
Even  if  she  did  not  live  herself  to  govern  all  those  years,  it  is 

VOL.   I.  11 


224  THE       AVOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

evident  that  her  influence  and  instructions  were  remembered 
and  acted  upon,  for  it  was  not  till  after  these  forty  years  thai 
"  Israel  again  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,"  and  so  again 
required  a  redeemer,  which  was  granted  in  the  person  of 
Gideon. 

The  si)ence  preserved  regarding  tlie  subsequent  life  and 
death  of  Deborah,  is  a  simple  confirmation  of  the  meekness  and 
humility  with  which  we  found  her  judging  Israel  under  her 
own  palm-tree,  before  being  called  to  a  more  stirring  scene. 
The  land  was  at  peace,  the  power  of  prophecy  and  foresight  in 
military  matters  was  no  longer  needed,  and  Deborah  resumed 
her  personally  humble  station,  evidently  without  any  ambitious 
wish,  or  attempt  to  elevate  her  rank  or  prospects.  It  was 
enough  that  she  was  useful  to  her  countrymen  ;  that  she  was  a 
lowly  instrument  in  the  Eternal's  hand  to  work  them  good. 
What,  now,  did  she  need  to  satisfy  the  woman  nature^  which 
she  still  so  evidently  retained  ?  Her  judgments,  her  works,  are 
covered  with  the  veil  of  silence,  but  we  learn  their  eflects  by 
the  simple  phrase,  that  "  the  land  had  rest  forty  years" — the 
land,  the  whole  land,  not  merely  that  which  was  under  her 
direct  superintendence.  Virtue,  holiness,  and  wisdom,  though 
the  gifts  of  but  one  lowly  individual,  are  not  confined  to  one 
place,  when  used,  as  were  Deborah's,  to  the  glory  of  God,  and 
the  good  of  her  people.  Silently,  and  perhaps  unperceived, 
they  spread  over  space  and  time ;  and  oh  !  how  glorious  must 
be  the  destinj-  of  that  woman,  who,  without  one  moment  quit- 
ting her  natural  sphere,  can  )"et  hj  precept,  example,  and  labor 
produce  such  blessed  effects  as  to  give  the  land  peace,  and 
bring  a  whole  ]jeople  unto  God  ! 

In  a  practical  view,  perhaps,  the  character  of  Deborah  cannot 
now  bo  l)ruught  home  to  the  conduct  of  her  descendants,  for 
woman  caTi  no  longer  occupy  a  ]>osition  of  such  trust  and  wisdom 
in  Israel;  but,  theoretically,  we  may  take  the  history  of  Debo- 
rah to  our  hearts,  both  nationally  and  individually.  With  such 
an  example  in  the  Word  of  our  God,  it  is  unanswerably  evident 
that  neither  the  Written  nor  the  Oral  Law  could  have  contained 
one  syllable  to  the  disparagement  of  woman. 

Men  were  in  no  condition  to  have  permitted  the  influence  of 
woman,  had  they  not  been  accustomed,  by  the  constant  and 
emphatic  enjoinments  of  the  law,  to  look  on  her  with  respect, 
consideration,  and  tenderness.     Mentally  and  spiritually,  Debo- 


PERIOD      111. DEBORAH.  225 

rah  was  gifled  in  an  extraordinary  degree,  leading  us  to  infer 
that  the  women  of  Israel  must  have  had  the  power  to  cultivate 
both  mind  and  s])irit,  and  to  delight  in  their  resources,  for  we 
have  the  whole  Bible  to  prove  that  the  Eternal  never  selected 
for  the  instruments  of  His  will,  any  but  those  whose  hearts  were 
inclined  towards  Him,  even  before  He  called  them — witness  the 
history  of  Abraham,  Joseph,  Moses,  David,  and  others.  All  and 
every  talent  comes  from  God,  but  will  not  work  and  intluence 
by  His  sole  gift  alone.  They  are  given  to  be  improved,  persever- 
ed in,  perfected,  by  those  to  whom  they  are  intrusted,  and  then 
used  in  the  service  of  their  Giver.  It  is  evident,  then,  that 
Deborah  had  the  inclination  and  the  poioer  to  cultivate,  perfect, 
and  use  the  gifts  of  her  God  ;  and  this  would  have  been  quite 
impossible,  had  her  social  condition  been  such,  as  the  enemies  of 
scriptural  and  spiritual  Judaism  declare.  With  the  history  of 
Deborah  in  their  hands,  the  young  daughters  of  Israel  need  little 
other  defence  or  argument,  to  convince  their  adversaries  that 
they  require  no  other  creed,  nor  even  a  denial  of  the  Oral  Law, 
to  teach  them  their  proper  position,  alike  to  themselves  and 
their  fellows,  and  in  their  relative  duties  towards  God  and  man. 
Deborah  being  a  wife,  confirms  this  yet  more  strongly. 
There  must  not  only  have  been  perfect  freedom  o( position,  but 
of  action  ;  even  more  than  is  found  in  the  history  of  any  modern 
nation,  for  we  do  not  find  a  single  instance  of  a  wife  being  elect- 
ed to  any  public  office  requiring  intellect  and  spirituality, 
secular  and  religious  knowledge,  so  completely  distinct  from  her 
husband.  Yet  the  history  of  Deboi'ah  in  no  way  infers  that  she 
was  neglectful  of  her  conjugal  and  domestic  duties.  There  is  an 
unj)retending  sim|)licity  about  her  very  greatness.  The  very 
fact  of  those  she  judgi'd  coming  to  her  under  her  own  i>alni- 
trc'i,  supposes  her  quiet  and  retired  mode  of  living.  She  ne\er 
leaves  iier  home,  excef)t  at  the  eartiest  entreaty  of  Barak,  which 
urges  her  to  sacrifice  domestic  retirement  for  public  good.  To 
a  really  great  mind,  domestic  and  [lublic  duties  are  so  perfectly 
com[)atible,  that  the  first  need  iKner  be  sacriticed  for  the  last. 
And  that  Lapidoth  in  no  manner  interfered  with  the  public 
offices  of  his  wife,  called  as  she  was  to  them  by  God  Himself 
through  His  gifts,  infers  a  noble  confidence  and  respectful  con- 
sideration towards  her,  evidently  springing  at  once  from  the 
national  equality  and  freedom  tendered  to  Jewish  women  ;  and 
from  a  mind  great  enough  to  appreciate  and  value  such  talents 


226  THE       WOMKN       OF       ISRAEL. 

even  in  a  woman  ;  a  greatness  not  very  often  found  in  modern 
times. 

To  follow  in  the  steps  of  our  great  ancestress  is  not  possible, 
now  that  the  prophetic  spirit  is  removed  from  Israel,  and  the  few 
public  offices  left  us  fall  naturally  to  the  guaidianship  of  man ; 
yet  many  and  many  a  Jewish  woman  is  intrusted  with  one  or 
more  talents  direct  from  God ;  and  if  she  can  stretch  forth  a 
helping  hand  to  the  less  enlightened  of  her  people,  let  her  not 
hold  back,  from  the  false  and  unscriptural  belief  that  woman 
cannot  aid  the  cause  of  God,  or  in  any  way  attain  to  religious 
knowledge.  His  word  is  open  to  her,  as  to  man.  In  Moses' 
command  to  read  and  explain  the  Law  to  all  people,  woman  was 
included  by  name.  And  now  the  whole  Bible,  Law,  Historical 
books.  Psalms,  and  Prophets,  are  open  to  her  daily  commune, 
and  shall  it  be  said  that  she  has  neither  the  right  nor  the  under- 
standing to  make  use  of  such  blessed  privilege  ?  Shame,  shame 
on  those  who  would  thus  cramp  the  power  of  the  Lord,  in  deny- 
ing to  any  one  of  His  creatures  the  power  of  addressing  and 
comprehending  Him,  through  the  inexhaustible  treasure  of  His 
gracious  word  ! 

Every  married  woman  is  judge  and  guardian  of  her  own 
household.  She  may  have  to  encounter  the  prejudices  of  a 
husband,  not  yet  thinking  with  her  on  all  points ;  but  if  she 
have  really  a  great  mind,  she  will  know  how  to  influence,  with- 
out in  any  way  interfering.  She  will  know  how  to  serve  the  Lord 
in  her  household  without  neglecting  her  duty  and  aflection 
towards  her  husband ;  and  by  domestic  conduct  influence 
society  at  large,  secretly  and  unsuspectedly  indeed,  but  more 
powerfully  than  she  herself  can  in  the  least  degree  suppose. 

To  unmarried  women,  even  as  to  wives,  some  talent  is  intrust- 
ed, which  may  be  used  to  the  glory  of  its  Giver.  Life  is  not 
lent  us  to  be  frittered  away  in  an  unmeaning  little  satisfactory 
run  of  amusements,  or  often  in  their  mere  fruitless  search. 
There  surely  is  some  period  in  a  jingle  woman's  existence,  when 
the  hopes,  ambition,  and  even  favorite  amuseqieiits,  of  girlhood 
mubt  come  to  an  end.  Because  unmarried,  is" woman  ^till  to 
believ^e  herself  a  girl,  hoping  for,  and  looking-for,  a  change  in 
her  existence,  which  will  in  reality  never  come  ?  Would  it  not 
be  wiser  and  better,  aye,  and  incalculably  happier,  if  woman  her- 
self withdrew  from  the  sphere  of  exciting  hopes  and  pletisures 
which  she  had  occupied  in  girlhood  ?     If  she  sought  persever- 


PERIOL      III.  —  WIFE      OF      MA  NOAH.  227 

ino-ly  and  prayerfully  some  new  objects  of  interest,  affection,  and 
em])loymeiit,  vvliich  she  might  justly  hope  would  become  a  stay 
and  support  in  rapidly  advancing  years,  and  thus  entirely  }>re- 
vent  the  ennui,  and  its  attendants,  love  of  gossip,  friv  Ally,  and 
often  sourness  and  irritability,  which  are  too  generally  believed 
to  be  the  sole  characteristics  of  single  (and  so  of  course  sup|)0s- 
ed  disappointed)  women  ?  Have  we  not  all  some  jjrecious 
talent  lent  us  by  our  God,  and  for  the  use  of  which  He  will 
demand  an  account  ?  Is  there  not  the  whole  human  family 
from  which  to  select  some  few  objects  of  interest,  on  whom  to 
expend  some  of  our  leisure  time,  and  draw  our  thoughts  from 
all-engrossing  self?  Were  there  but  one  object  on  whom  we 
have  lavished  kindness,  and  tanght  to  look  up  to  God  and  hea- 
ven, and  to  walk  this  earth  virtuously  and  meekly — but  one  or 
two  whom,  had  we  the  pecuniary  means,  we  have  clothed  and 
fed — a  sick  or  dying  bed  that  we  have  soothed — a  sorrowing 
one  consoled — an  erring  one  turned  from  the  guilty  path — the 
repentant,  or  the  weak,  strengthened  and  encouraged — we  shall 
not  have  lived  in  vain  ;  or,  when  we  come  to  die,  look  shudderingly 
back  on  a  useless  life  and  wasted  gifts ;  on  existence  lost  in  the 
vain  struggle  to  arrest  the  flight  of  time,  and  still  seek  hope  and 
pleasure  in  thoughts  and  scenes,  whose  sweetness  has  been  too 
long  extracted  for  aught  to  remain  but  bitterness  and  gall. 
Deborahs  in  truth  we  cannot  be ;  but  each  and  all  have  talents 
given,  and  a  sphere  assigned  them,  and,  like  her,  all  have  it  in 
their  power,  in  the  good  performed  towards  man,  to  use  the  one, 
and  consecrate  the  other  to  the  service  of  their  God. 


CHAPTER    IV. 


WIFE      OF      MANGA  H, 


Several  years  passed  since  the  death  of  Deborah.  Gideon, 
Tolo,  Jair,  Jepthah,  Ibzan,  Elon,  and  Abdan,  had  successively 
judged  Israel,  often  with  interregnums  of  rebellion,  apostasy. 


228  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

and  anarchy.  After  the  death  of  the  last  mentioned  judge, 
"the  children  of  Israel  again  did  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
and  He  delivered  them  into  the  hands  of  the  Philistines  forty 
years."  We  now  come  to  another  incident  in  the  history  of  the 
women  of  Israel  demanding  our  attention.  In  the  tribe  of  Dan 
was  a  certain  man  of  the  city  of  Zorah,  named  Manoah,  vvhuse 
■wife  had  no  children,  always  a  source  of  grief  in  the  families  of 
Israel ;  not,  as  the  Christians  believe,  from  the  idea  of  becoming 
the  mother  of  the  promised  Messiah  (who  is  scarcely  mentioned 
till  the  time  of  the  prophets,  when  the  awfully  threatened  chas- 
tisement of  the  Eternal  needed  such  consolatory  promises),  but 
because  children  were  always  considered  proofs  of  the  Lord's 
love,  a  privilege  granted  from  Him  as  the  recompense  of  faith- 
ful service ;  as  we  read  in  the  words  of  David,  "  Lo,  children 
are  an  heritage  of  the  Lord  :  and  the  fruit  of  the  womb  is  His 
REWARD,"  Psalm  cxxvii.  And,  again,  "Thy  wife  shall  be  as  a 
fruitful  vine  by  the  sides  of  thine  house  :  and  thy  children  like 
olive  plmts  around  thy  table.  Behold,  thus  shall  the  man  be 
blessed  that  feareth  the  Lord.  Tliou  shalt  see  thy  children's 
children,  and  peace  on  Israel,"  Psalm  cxxviii.  To  go  down 
childless  to  the  grave,  and  so  prevent  the  name  from  being 
"built  up"  in  Israel,  was  deemed  a  heavy  affliction,  inferring,  for 
some  secret  sin  or  public  transgression,  the  anger  of  the  Lord. 

Sacred  Writ  is  silent  as  to  the  reason  of  the  Eternal's  selec- 
tion falling  on  the  family  of  Manoah  for  a  deliverer  in  ]>art  from 
the  Philistines,  but  we  are  justified  in  inferring  from  the  con- 
text, that  they  were  one  of  the  few  faithful  followers  of  Israel, 
by  whom  the  Law  was  in  all  points  obeyed.  Be  that  however 
as  it  may,  this  is  certain,  that  it  was  to  the  woman,  not  to  the 
man,  the  Most  High  deigned  to  send  His  angelic  messenger, 
with  not  only  the  blessed  revelation  that  He  would  grant  her  a 
son  ;  but  deigning  to  instruct  her  as  to  the  food  and  drink  she 
was  to  refrain  from  taking  herself,  and  to  the  devoting  her  babe 
as  a  Nazaiite  to  the  Lord,  even  from  his  infancy  ;  thus  making 
the  direct  commands  of  the  Immutable  agree  in  all  points  with 
the  Law  which  His  wisdom  and  mercy  had  already  given. 

Naturally  astonished,  for  such  revelations  were  not  even  then 
common  in  Israel,  we  find  "  the  woman"  following  the  impulse 
of  her  confiding  nature,  hastening  on  the  instant  to  her  hus- 
band, and  informing  him  that  a  man  of  God  had  come  unto  her, 
and  his  countenance  was  very  terrible  (signifying,  not  actually 


PERIOD       III. WIFE    OF      MANOAH.  .229 

terrible,  but  grand  and  imposing),  like  the  countenance  of  an 
angel  of  the  Lord  ;  but  "  I  asked  him  not  whence  he  was,  nei- 
ther told  he  me  his  name."  From  this  description  of  the 
heavenly  messenger,  it  appears  that  the  woman  did  not  consider 
him  in  reality  an  angel,  supposing  him  a  man  of  God  or  prophet, 
bearing  a  message  from  the  Most  High,  as  was  usual  in  Israel, 
yet  still  struck  by  the  imposing  beauty  of  his  countenance,  and 
feehng  it  possessed  something  beyond  mortality. 

Equally  astonished,  but  helieving,  Manoah  lost  no  time  in  idle 
speculation,  but  betook  himself  instantly  to  prayer ;  thus  con- 
firming our  idea  of  his  faithfulness  and  piety,  and  proving  one 
grand  and  important  national  truth,  that  the  Israehtes  needed 
no  mediator  whatever,  be  he  man  or  angel,  to  bring  up  their 
prayers  before  God,  and  obtain  His  gracious  reply.  Here  was 
Manoah,  living  on  his  own  estates,  in  his  own  tribe,  far  removed 
from  the  priests  of  the  Lord  and  the  tabernacle,  through  the 
first  of  whom  alone  it  is  declared,  by  our  opponents,  that  the 
prayers  of  Israel  could  be  acceptably  offered  up.  No  priest 
near,  of  whom  he  could  either  ask  or  obtain  counsel ;  no  wise 
man  or  judge,  of  whom  he  might  demand  advice  or  explanation. 
Yet  the  law  was  then  in  force  all  over  Israel,  and  if  it  had  been 
illegal  and  derogatory  to  the  dignity  of  the  Lord  to  address  Him 
in  prayer  from  any  place,  or  at  any  time,  we  should  have  found 
Manoah  hastening  without  a  moment's  delay  to  the  appointed  spot, 
and  offering  sacrifices  to  obtain  the  mediation  of  the  anointed 
priest,  knowing  that  through  him  only  he  could  obtain  reply. 

Instead  of  which,  we  find  him,  without  even  pause  or  hesita- 
tion, believing  the  words  of  his  wife  so  implicitly,  as  to  offer  up 
a  prayer  of  such  simple  construction  that  it  clearly  proves  how 
little  the  Most  High  regards  mere  formula  in  prayer,  when 
springing,  as  did  Manoah's,  from  humility  and  faith.  "  Then 
Manoah  entreated  the  Lord,  and  said,  O  my  Lord,  let  the  man 
of  God  which  thou  didst  send  come  again  to  us,  and  teach  us 
what  we  shall  do  unto  the  child  that  shall  be  born."  Here  is 
no  doubt  expressed  as  to  the  reality  of  the  blessing  profi'ered  : 
"  The  child  that  shall  be  born,"  reveals  how  fully  he  believed  in 
the  promise  ;  but,  as  was  natural  to  humanity,  he  entreated  a 
confirmation  of  the  instructions  vouchsafed,  not  knowing  how  far 
the  imagination  and  the  fears  of  his  wife  might  have  tinctured 
her  relation. 

"And  God  hearkened  to  the  voice  of  Manoah."     Did  we 


230  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

need  any  furtlier  incentive  to  "  entreat  the  Lord"  in  all  things, 
surely  we  have  it  here.  Manoah  had  simply  spoken  the 
thouti-hts  of  his  heart  in  words,  which  would  be  their  natui-al 
vehicle  of  expression.  He  had  prayed  through  the  merits  of 
neither  dead  nor  living,  man  nor  angel,  but  in  lowly  trusting 
faith,  and  (xod  hearkened  and  answered.  Again  His  messenger 
appeared  unto  the  woman  as  she  sat  in  the  field,  Manoah  not 
being  with  her,  and  she  ran  to  inform  her  husband,  saying  that 
the  man  had  again  appeared  unto  her,  the  same  who  had  come 
/ireviously ;  and  Manoah,  no  doubt  in  secret  adoring  the 
Beneficent  God  who  had  thus  deigned  to  answer  his  prayer, 
went  with  his  wife,  and  demanded  of  the  messenger,  if  he  were 
indeed  the  man  who  had  visited  them  before.  And  being 
answered  in  the  affirmative,  he  besought  a  repetition  of  how  to 
"  order  the  child  ;"  and  the  angel  condescended  a  full  reply, 
reiterating  all  his  previous  instructions.  Still  believing  him  a 
man,  as  himself,  only  gifted  with  the  spirit  of  the  Lord, 
Manoah,  with  the  hospitality  ])eculiar  to  the  Hebrew,  besought 
him  to  remain  until  "  we  shall  have  made  ready  a  kid  for  thee." 
And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  Manoah,  "  Though  thou 
detain  me,  I  will  not  eat  of  thy  bread.  And  if  thou  wilt  offer  a 
burnt-offering  thou  must  offer  it  unto  the  Lord  ;  for  Manoah 
hnexo  not  that  he  was  an  angel  of  the  Lord.  And  Manoah  said, 
What  is  thy  name  ?  that  when  thy  sayings  come  to  pass,  we 
may  do  thee  honor.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 
Wherefore  askest  thou  thus  after  my  name,  seeing  it  is  secret? 
So  Manoah  took  a  kid  with  a  meat-offering,  and  offered  it  upon 
a  rock  unto  the  Lord.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  flame 
went  up  toward  heaven  from  off"  the  altar,  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
ascended  in  the  flame  of  the  altar,  and  Manoah  and  his  wife 
looked  on  it,  and  fell  with  their  faces  to  the  ground.  And  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  did  no  more  appear  unto  Manoah  and  his 
wife  :  then  Manoah  knew  he  was  an  angel  of  the  Lord.  And 
Manoah  said,  We  shall  surely  die,  for  we  have  seen  God  [i.  e.  a 
messenger  direct  from  God.]  But  his  wife  said  unto  him.  If 
the  Lord  were  pleased  to  kill  us,  He  would  not  have  received  a 
burnt-offering  and  a  meat-offering  at  our  hands,  neither  would 
He  have  showed  us  all  these  things,  nor  would  as  at  this 
(second)  time  have  told  us  such  things  as  these."  (Judges  xii.) 
We  have  quoted  this  chapter  almost  at  length,  because  it 
contains  so  much  which  it  is  almost  imperative  for  us  to  con- 


PERIOD     III. WIFE      OF      MANOAH.  231 

sider  in  a  national  point  of  view,  before  we  can  come  to  regard 
it  in  its  bearings  on  our  history  as  women.  Any  elucidation  or 
defence  of  our  national  belief  will  not,  we  trust,  be  deemed  out 
of  place  in  a  Jewish  work,  however  little  it  may  be  pronounced 
to  have  to  do  with  the  main  point  of  its  subject.  In  an  age 
when  so  much  of  controversy  is  going  on,  when  even  the  inti- 
mate association,  and  often  friendships,  between  Hebrew  and 
Gentile  may  bring  forward  peculiar  points  of  belief,  to  inquire 
their  differences  or  varying  modes  of  interpretation — it  becomes 
imperatively  necessary  for  the  young  Hebrew  of  either  sex  to  be 
provided  with  such  defence  as  will,  at  least,  satisfy  his  own 
heart  and  conscience,  and  render  him  invulnerable  to  the 
peculiar  expositions  proffered  to  his  attention,  however  little 
such  defence  may  weigh  with  the  hereditary  prejudices  of 
his  opponents.  There  is  a  wide  difference  between  an  argu- 
ment seeking  the  conversion  of  another,  and  that  merely 
defending  our  own  belief  in  the  same  sacred  authority  as 
gives  a  supposed  foundation  for  the  belief  of  an  opponent. 
As  long  :,s  the  Christian  confines  his  arguments  and  quotations 
to  the  New  Testament,  the  Israelite  feels  perfectly  secure,  from 
his  entire  rejection  of  such  authority  as  Divine.  But  when  the 
words  of  the  Old  Testament  are  so  explained  as  to  bear  almost 
startlingly  upon  the  creed  of  our  adversaries,  then  it  is  we  need 
careful,  though  perfectly  simple,  training,  to  provide  us  both 
with  reply  and  defence.  To  be  kept  in  ignorance  of  the  Naza- 
rene  readings  of  the  Bible  does  no  good  whatever  ;  for  there  are 
very  few  who  can  hope  to  pass  through  life,  particularly  now 
that  social  intercourse  is  so  unrestrained,  without  some  approach 
to  the  differences  of  belief,  and  their  causes.  Much  better  is  it 
to  know  clearly  the  danger  we  are  not  unlikely  to  encounter, 
and  how  to  avert  it,  than  to  come  upon  it  wholly  unprepared. 
Not  in  childhood  indeed,  for  it  would  be  folly  to  perplex  the 
young  mind  with  the  tenets  of  two  beliefs  :  then  it  is  simply 
necessary  to  impress  and  explain  the  essentials  of  their  own 
creed  ;  but  in  maturer  years,  when  the  opening  mind  is  not  only 
capable  of  understanding,  but  feels  itself  restless  and  anxious  for 
something  more  than  the  mere  education  of  childhood  :  then  let 
them  compare  their  belief  with  that  of  others ;  let  them  know 
what  and  why  their  opponents  so  believe,  through  the  enlarged 
and  liberal  views  of  a  spiritually  Jewish  instructor  ;  let  the  light 
of  reason  and  revelation  be  their  guide,  and  we  shall  find  both 

11* 


232  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

male  and  female  of  the  Hebrew  youth  so  confirmed  in  their  own 
blessed  faith,  as  to  live  and  die  for  it,  yet  eschewing  all  of 
illiberality,  inichaiitableness,  and  scorn,  towards  those  of  other 
and  less  enlightened  creeds. 

The  chapter  under  consideration  is  one  of  those  much  regarded 
by  the  Nazarene,  and  always  brought  forward  in  controversial 
discussion.  From  Manoah's  simple  words,  "  We  have  seen 
God,"  they  believe,  that  wherever  the  "  angel  of  the  Lord"  is 
mentioned,  it  signifies  the  second  person  of  the  Godhead  ;  and 
that  as  He  took  visible  form  to  our  ancestors  of  old,  so  we  might 
equally  believe  in  His  taking  the  form  of  Jesus  to  save  the  world. 

To  a  mere  superficial  thinker  this  argument  might  prove 
dangerous  ;  and  we  are  therefore  anxious  to  explain  this  chapter 
according  to  the  Israelite's  belief.  In  the  first  place,  we  refuse 
to  see  in  this  messenger  anything  more  than  the  Word  of  God 
declares,  "  an  angel  of  the  Lord,"  simply  because  the  Eternal 
said  unto  Moses,  in  answer  to  his  earnest  entreaty,  "  Show  me 
thy  glory.  Thou  canst  not  see  my  face  :  for  there  shall 
NO  MAN  SEE  ME,  AND  LIVE."  And  we  thercfoic  know,  that  no 
man  has  or  ever  can  see  His  face,  and  hve ;  for  God  is  a  God 
of  truth,  and  knows  not  the  very  shadow  of  a  change.  That 
which  He  has  once  said  is  immutable,  unwavering,  changeless 
as  Himself.  That  there  may  be,  even  in  the  books  of  Moses, 
one  or  two  verses  seeming  to  contradict  this  assertion,  as  in 
Exodus  xxiv.,  verses  10  and  11,  and  in  verse  11  of  chapter 
xxxiii.,  is  of  no  importance,  being  either  a  wrong  translation,  or 
the  mere  manner  of  writing,  to  bring  down  the  solemn  appear- 
ance of  the  glory  of  God  to  the  comprehension  of  the  mixed 
multitude,  and  impossible  to  be  weighed  a  single  moment  with 
the  words  of  the  Most  High  Himself.  Would  He  declare  the 
solemn  truth  in  one  part  of  His  Holy  Word,  confirming  it  by 
every  prophet,  and  in  another  part  command  His  people,  as  a 
condition  of  their  salvation,  to  believe  on  His  appearing  on 
earth,  and  conversing  face  to  face  with  man,  first  as  an  angel, 
and  then  in  human  form  ?  The  very  words  of  Manoah  confirm 
this  belief,  and  p^rove  it  was  entertained  as  strongly  by  the  ancient 
as  the  modern  Jews.  The  Nazarenes  take  only  the  last  mem- 
ber of  this  sentence,  forgetting  the  important  fact,  "  We  shall 
surely  die,  if,  indeed,  we  have  seen  God,"  for  such  is  the  real 
meaning  of  his  words,  and  that  he  did  not  die  ;■  and  the  simple 
truth  of  his  wife's  suggestion  convinced  him,  no  doubt,  as  it 


PERIOD      III. WIFE      OF      MANOAH.  233 

convinces  us,  that  it  was  not  God  wiiom  lie  had  seen,  but  one 
of  those  angelic  messengers  whom  it  sometimes  pleased  the 
Lord  to  employ  to  deliver  His  missions  unto  man.  The  nature 
of  such  beings  it  needs  not  now  to  inquire  ;  but  the  belief  in  the 
existence  of  angels  is  so  twined  with  the  behef  in  the  Bible, 
that  if  we  disbelieve  the  one,  we  must  disbelieve  the  other. 
The  very  word  "t^at^'n,  derived  from  the  Arabic  "r^Hi^,  to  send,  or 
employ,  signifies  merely  a  messenger,  a  legate,  used  indiscrimi- 
nately for  one  employed  by  a  king  as  ambassador,  or  by  the 
Lord  as  an  angel,  prophet,  or  priest;  and  sometimes  also 
applied  to  whatever  is  sent  by  the  Eternal  to  execute  His  will, 
even  as  winds  and  plagues. 

The  grand  and  imposing  aspect  of  the  angelic  Eountenance, 
as  we  have  seen,  struck  Manoah's  wife  ;  but  that  neither  she  nor 
her  husband  supposed  him  anything  more  than  a  prophet  or 
priest,  is  evident  by  their  manner  of  addressing  him,  and  their 
entreating  him  to  tarry  for  refreshment.  The  angel's  reply  is 
strong  confirmation  of  what  we  have  alreacUr  stated  concerning 
his  real  office.  To  eat  of  their  bread  would  be  confirming  their 
idea  that  he  was  but  a  man  ;  to  accept  their  burnt-offering  would 
be  arrogating  to  himself  what  was  due  only  to  his  Heavenly 
Master.  "If  thou  offer  a  burnt-offering  thou  must  offer  it  unto 
the  Lord  ;"  not  to  him,  who,  though  of  an  angelic  nature,  was 
still  nothing  but  a  messt-nger.  Still  ignorant  that  he  was  an 
angel,  Manoah  asks  his  name,  to  do  him  honor;  and  bccaitse  he 
knew  how  liable  were  even  believing  Israelites  to  turn  aside  from 
the  worship  of  the  immutable  God  to  ivorship  others,  and  jealous 
for  the  (jlory  of  his  Master,  the  angel  refused  to  tell  his  name, 
declar'ng  it  was  secret — that  when  his  words  came  to  pass, 
Manoah  or  his  wife  n:ight  not  have  even  a  natne  to  turn  aside 
their  thoughts  from  the  one  sole  God;  still,  to  convince  them 
he  was  not  a  mere  mortal,  but  came  direct  from  the  Lord,  he 
ascended,  or  disappeared,  in  the  flame  of  the  altar,  as  had  been 
the  sign  of  the  divine  acceptance  of  the  offering,  from  the  sacri- 
fice of  Abel  downwards.  And  it  was  knowing  this,  and  recog- 
nising the  immediate  agency  of  the  Most  High,  in  thus  sending 
one  of  His  own  messengers,  that  so  overwhelmed  Manoah  and 
his  wife  with  religious  awe,  as  to  cause  them  to  fall  with  their 
faces  to  the  ground,  not  daring  to  look  even  upon  the  semblanco 
of  His  glory. 

A  layman,  and  a  lowly  individual  of  his  father's  tribe,  it  was 


234  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

not  unnatural  that  Manoah  should  even  be  more  awe-struck, 
than  rejoiced,  at  the  revelation  so  graciously  vouchsafed ;  and 
whilst  the  mistaken  idea  engrossed  him,  if,  indeed,  it  ever  did, 
that  he  had  conversed  with  God,  he  could  not  do  otherwise  than 
fear  instant  death,  for,  like  all  his  brethren,  he  knew  the  God  of 
Israel  was  a  God  of  truth ;  and,  therefore,  if  he  had  seen  him, 
he  must  cease  to  live.  The  ready  answer  of  his  wife  removed 
these  groundless  fears ;  and  while  it  told  him,  that  if  it  had 
pleased  the  Lord  to  kill  them.  He  would  not  have  accepted 
oflferings  at  their  hands,  or  so  revealed  His  will,  it  must  equally 
have  convinced  him,  as  a  believer  in  the  revelation  of  the  Lord 
through  Moses,  that  it  was  not  Ood,  but  his  messenger  whom 
He  had  seen. 

Such  is  the  simple  rendering  of  this  very  simple  chapter ; 
while  the  second  commandment,  and  the  words  already  quoted, 
"  No  man  can  see  me,  and  live,"  with  the  firm  belief  that  God 
is  TRUTH,  are  all  sufficient  wherewith  satisfactorily  to  explain,  both 
to  our  own  hearts  and  to  those  of  our  children,  every  verse  that 
may  seem  to  read  slightly  contradictory,  and  supply  us  with  an 
impenetrable  shield,  against  which  the  reasonings  of  our  oppo- 
nents must  fall  blunted  and  harmless  to  the  ground. 

Regarding  this  narrative  in  its  bearings  on  our  history  as 
Women  of  Israel,  it  is  confirmation  strong  of  our  always  attested 
declaration,  that  neither  Written  nor  Oral  Law  interfered  with 
the  perfect  equality  of  man  and  wife.  The  chapter  before  us 
displays  a  simple  and  natural  picture  of  conjugal  confidence  and 
equalit}',  and  of  the  respective  peculiarities  of  man  and  woman. 
It  is  impossible  to  read  this  chapter,  without  perceiving  that 
Manoah's  wife  was  a  perfectly  free  agent,  only  bound  by  the 
links  of  love  and  confidence  which  the  marriage  law  enjoins. 
As  the  mother  of  the  child  selected  to  dehver  Israel  in  part  from 
the  Phihstines,  she  was  even  of  more  importance  in  the  sight  of 
God  than  her  husband,  a  fact  inferred  from  the  angel  appearing 
both  times  to  her,  and  only  addressing  Manoah  when  addressed 
by  him.  We  find,  too,  Manoah  including  her  alike  in  all  he 
said  and  did.  "  Let  us  detain  thee,  until  toe  have  prepared  a 
kid,"  &c.  In  the  religious  observance  of  the  burnt-offering,  and 
in  the  lowly  prostration  acknowledging  the  divine  power, 
Manoah  and  his  wife  are  separately  named,  proving  her  perfect 
equality  in  all  religious  observances,  and  her  right  to  partake  of 
them.     That  the  angel  never  again  appeared  either  to  Manoah 


PERIOD      III. WIFE      OF     MANOAH.  235 

or  his  wife,  is  the  proof  to  them  that  he  was  a  messenger  from 
the  Lord.  The  words,  "  we  shall  surely  die,"  included  her  in 
the  penalty  su[)posed  to  have  been  incurred,  and  mark  the 
female  as  equally  a  responsible  agent  as  the  male.  Still  more 
clearly  demonstrative  that  the  Hebrew  wife  really  occupied  the 
free  and  equal  position  which  the  laws  of  God  Himself  as.-igned 
her,  is  the  fact  that  it  was  her  ready  wit,  and  quickness  of  intel- 
lect, which  reassured  her  husband.  She  had  been  awe-struck 
like  himself,  but  yet,  perfectly  in  accordance  with  woman's 
nature,  was  the  first  to  comprehend  the  real  intention  of  the 
revelation.  Maa's  more  solid  nature  and  deeper  thought, 
require  time  for  mature  judgment — woman's  quicker  fancy,  and 
often  more  easily  excited  feeling,  give  her  the  advantage  in  the 
rapidity  of  comprehension,  and,  very  often,  in  the  correctness  of 
judgment,  which  man's  greater  solidity  strengthens  and  ma- 
tures. 

But  that  Manoah's  wife  could  thus  comprehend,  and  thus 
correctly  judge,  implies  a  domestic  and  social  position  which 
not  only  permitted,  but  exercised  these  pecuhar  faculties.  In  an 
enslaved  and  degraded  position,  their  possession  was  practically 
and  theoretically  impossible. 

We  find,  then,  much  even  in  this  brief  chapter  to  interest  and 
instruct  us,  ahke  as  Hebrew  women,  and  as  women  taken 
generally.  In  the  latter,  we  shall  do  well  to  reflect  on  the  sim- 
ple trusting  confidence  of  Manoah's  wife,  seeming  the  more 
tender  and  deferential  from  the  greater  correctness  of  judgment 
manifested  afterwards.  And  so  it  should  always  be.  However 
woman  may  be  naturally  endowed  with  superior  attainments, 
with,  perhaps,  even  a  greater  share  of  strength  and  firmness,  and 
a  quicker  aptitude  for  intellectual  acquirements,  still  it  is  her 
bounden  duty  so  to  guide  and  use  these  gifts,  that  they  shall 
never  in  any  way  jar  upon  the  feelings  of  the  one  chosen  as  her 
husband  ;  and  check  mutual  confidence  and  love  by  that  assump- 
tion of  superiority,  even  granted  it  exist,  of  all  things  most  irri- 
tating to  man's  nature.  It  is  woman's  province  to  influence^ 
never  to  dictate ;  to  conceal,  rather  than  assume  superiority. 
She  may  find  many  and  many  an  opportunity  to  use  it  for  the 
good  of  her  husband  and  children,  as  was  the  case  with  the  wife 
of  Manoah  ;  but  never  let  her  display  it — never  let  her  permit 
her  husband  to  feel  his  inferiority — never  let  her  withhold  con- 
fidence, from  the  mistaken  notion  that  as  her  judgment  is  as 


236  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

good,  if  not  better  than  his,  she  cannot  need  his  advice  or  inter- 
ference— for  if  she  does,  she  may  rest  assured  that  from  that 
instant  her  influence  is  at  an  end  for  ever. 


CHAPTER  V. 

NAOMI. 


We  now  come  to  a  portion  of  our  history  as  women  of  Israel, 
which,  from  the  loveliness  of  female  character  that  it  displays, 
has  in  neither  history  nor  romance  been  equalled.  In  the  Bible 
it  is  termed  the  book  of  Ruth  ;  but  as  Ruth  does  not  properly 
belong,  by  birth  and  ancestry,  to  the  women  of  Israel,  Naomi 
must  be  the  subject  of  our  consideration.  With  her  history, 
however,  Ruth  is  so  entwined,  that  we  cannot  reflect  on  the  one 
without  also  pausing  on  the  touching  beauty  of  the  other. 

The  country  of  Moab,  situated  in  the  north-east  part  of 
Arabia  Petrjea,  was  separated  from  Judea  by  the  desolate  tract 
of  the  Dead  Sea,  and  the  river  Arnon.  It  could  not  probably 
be  said  ever  to  have  formed  part  of  the  land  of  Canaan  ;  but  was 
one  of  those  nations  which  the  Eternal  expressly  commanded 
His  people  to  spare :  see  Deut.  ii.  9. 

The  Dead  Sea  was  also  the  boundary  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  ; 
and  it  is  rather  a  remarkable  fact,  that  Judah  and  Simeon  are 
the  only  tribes  of  Israel  who  appear  to  have  driven  out  all  the 
previous  Canaanitish  possessors.  Judah  was  the  first  appointed 
by  the  Most  High  to  go  up  against  the  land  ;  and,  accompanied 
by  his  brother  Simeon,  evinced  not  only  more  obedience  but 
more  valor  and  military  skill.  We  do  not  read  of  them,  as  of 
Benjamin,  Manasseh,  Ei^hraim,  Zebulun,  Asher,  Naphtali,  and 
Dan,  who,  with  scarcely  any  fighting,  entered  into  peaceful  cove- 
nants with  the  Canaanites,  and  permitted  them  to  dwell  with 
them  even  in  their  cities.  Nor,  in  consequence,  do  we  find 
recorded  of  the  tribe  of  Judah  those  awful  crimes  and  wilful 


PERIOD      III. NAOMI.  237 

idolatries  practised  by  his  brethren.  In  the  early  part  of 
Jewish  history,  Jiidah  was  undoubtedly  the  most  faithful  tribe, 
else  had  he  not  been  the  chosen  branch,  from  which,  in  God's 
own  time,  will  spring  our  Restorer  and  Messiah. 

Elimelech  was  a  man  of  this  valiant  tribe,  and,  in  consequence 
of  a  severe  famine  which  devastated  Judea  (the  punishment,  in 
all  probability,  of  national  sin),  he  removed  his  family,  consist- 
ing of  a  wife  and  two  sons,  to  the  country  of  Moab,  not  far  dis- 
tant from  their  native  city,  Bethlehem-Judah  or  Ephratah. 
Elimelech  died  in  Moab,  not  very  long  after  he  sojourned  there ;  and 
his  two  sons,  Chilion  and  Mahlon,  took  them  wives  of  the  women 
of  Moab,  and  dwelled  there  about  ten  years.  Such  unions  wtre 
contrary  to  the  given  Law  of  God ;  and  we  may  infer  that,  not- 
withstanding the  virtue  and  attractions  of  those  selected,  the  act 
'  itself  as  disobedience  was  displeasing  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
from  the  early  deaths,  without  leaving  children,  of  Elimelech's 
two  sons.  This,  however,  is  a  mere  suggestion  which  may  or 
may  not  be,  and  does  not  infer  Divine  displeasure  against  either 
Orpah  or  Ruth  ;  as  those  not  under  the  Law  were  not  bound  by 
its  instructions. 

During  the  lifetime  of  her  husband  and  sons,  we  hear  nothing 
of  Naomi  ;  but  it  is  by  her  conduct  and  sentiments  in  adversity, 
and  the  strong  affection  borne  towards  her  by  her  daughters-in- 
law,  that  we  may  judge  of  her  previous  character. 

A  faithful  wife,  an  affectionate  mother — gentle,  meek,  trusting 
— manifesting  a  simple,  guileless  piety  in  every  relation,  every 
ci''cumstance  of  life ;  such  she  must  have  been,  or  we  should  not 
find  her  in  affliction  the  character  which  the  Word  of  God 
displays. 

It  is  not  always  in  prosperity  that  we  discover  the  true  graces 
of  a  spiritual  character.  The  quiet,  unostentatious  discharge  of 
domestic  duty — the  fond,  unwavering  affections  of  domestic  life 
— these  strike  us  not ;  nay,  we  often  pass  them  by,  wondering 
at  the  simplicity  and  tame-spiritedness  which  can  rest  content  in 
such  unexciting  scenes.  But  when  adversity  comes,  and  strength 
and  piety  is  to  an  extraordinary  degree  displayed,  then  it  is  we 
learn  that  it  is  in  unexciting  scenes  woman's  character  is  best 
matured  ;  and  we  may  chance  to  envy  those  whom  we  had 
before  almost  despised. 

The  heart  of  the  Hebrew  widow  yearned  towards  that  lovely 
land,  from  which  she  had  been  so  long  a  willing  exile  for  her 


238  THE      WOMEN      OF      ISRAEL. 

husband  and  children's  sake — yearned  towards  it,  for  it  was  the 
land  of  her  brethren,  where  the  Lord  had  set  up  His  only- 
Tabernacle  ;  where  His  law  had  assured  her  of  His  especial  pro- 
tection— for  she  was  a  widow  in  Israel  ;  where  her  full  heart 
could  pour  itself  before  Hin".  in  the  congregation  of  her  people 
— could  worship  Him  in  all  points  according  to  His  law.  In 
Moab  she  was  alone  of  her  race  and  faith.  No  wonder  she 
yearned  once  more  to  rest  in  her  native  land ;  or  that,  lonely 
and  aged  si^  she  was,  she  should  yet  set  forth  on  the  weary  way. 
Another  reason,  also,  might  thus  have  urged  her:  she  heard 
that  "  the  Lord  had  visited  His  people  with  bread,"  and,  there- 
fore, she  was  no  longer  guiltless  in  continuing  to  sojourn  in  a 
heathen  land. 

Accompanied  by  her  daughters,  she  departed  from  "  the  place 
where  she  was  ;"  but,  after  going  some  little  way  together,  she 
tenderly  besought  them  to  return,  each  to  .ner  mother's  house, 
praying  that  the  Lord  might  deal  kindly  with  them,  even  as  they 
had  dealt  with  the  dead  and  \y\\h  her  ;  and  grant  them  each  rest 
and  peace,  with  a  husband  of  their  own  people.  Then  she  kissed 
them,  and  they  lifted  up  their  voices  and  wept,  saying,  "  We  will 
surely  return  with  thee  unto  thine  own  people."  They  had 
lived  with  her  ten  years — a  long  period  for  the  character  and 
conduct  to  have  been  tried — and  we  see  what  Naomi's  must 
have  been,  by  the  grief  of  her  two  daughters — unable  to  part 
with  her,  even  to  return  to  their  own  parents.  To  Naomi,  such 
separation  must  also  have  been  a  heavy  trial  ;  but  she  was  too 
unselfish  to  wish  them  to  accompany  her  to  a  land  of  strangers. 
With  renewed  tenderness,  then,  she  sought  to  turn  them  from 
their  purpose,  telling  them  she  might  no  longer  give  them  hus- 
bands ;  thus  alluding  to  the  law  of  her  people,  which  commands 
the  brother  or  nearest  kinsman  of  the  deceased  to  take  unto  him- 
self the  childless  wife ;  and  then  only  do  we  hear  this  meek  and 
pious  mother  in  Israel  revert  to  her  heavy  affliction.  "  It  griev- 
eth  me  much,  for  your  sakes,  that  the  hand  of  the  Lord  is  gone 
out  against  me."  She  recognised  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  and 
met  her  individual  sorrows  not  only  with  uncomplaining  resig- 
nation, but  feeling  yet  more  deeply  for  her  daughters  than  for 
herself,  and  seeking  to  console  them — leaving  her  own  consola- 
tion to  Ilim  who  had  smitten  and  would  heal.  No  wonder  that 
her  fond  words  increased  their  grief  and  bade  them  weep  again : 
but  the  efl'ect  on  the  sisters  was  different.   Orpah  was  one  of  the 


PERIOD      III. NAOMI.  239 

many,  feeling  painfully  at  the  moment,  passionately  desirous  to 
evince  that  she  felt,  but  liable  to  be  easily  diverted  from  her  pur- 
pose. Penetrating  no  deeper  than  the  surface,  she,  perhaps, 
believed  Naomi's  words  as  neither  desiring  nor  requiring  her 
further  company  ;  and,  therefore,  repeatedly  she  kissed  her 
raother-in-law  and  wept,  but  at  length  turned  back  to  her  own 
home.  Much  as  she  loved  the  aged  Naomi,  earnestly  as  she 
wished  to  serve  her,  she  had  not  sufficient  firmness  and  steadi- 
ness of  character  to  act  of  herself  and  set  at  naught  the  persua- 
sions of  aftection.  Gentle  and  yielding,  it  was  easier  for  her  to 
grieve  than  to  act ;  and  is  not  this  the  nature  of  many  women  ? 
They  fear  to  abide  by  their  own  judgment  when  two  alternatives 
are  presented  to  them.  They  hesitate  and  linger,  fearing  to 
commit  themselves  by  decision,  and  so  are  guided  by  a  breath. 
Accustomed  to  express  all  their  own  impulses  and  feelings  with- 
out regarding  others,  such  natures  cannot  possibly  understand 
those  firmer  and  less  selfish  ones,  who  would  do  violence  to  their 
own  wishes,  to  secure  what  may  seem  the  greater  share  of  hap- 
piness for  another.  That  Orpah  was  one  of  these,  solves  her 
conduct  far  more  justly  and  agreeably  than  to  suppose  her,  as 
many  do,  merely  professing  a  love  and  regret  which  she  could 
not  really  feel — else,  she  too  would  have  followed  Naomi 
Orpah  was  woman  in  her  weakness ;  Ruth,  woman  in  her, 
strength  ;  and  both  are  as  beautifully  true  to  woman's  naturej 
now  as  then. 

Ruth's  own  unselfish  character  gave  her  the  clue  to  her 
mother-in-law's  words.  She  could  understand  that  Naomi 
might  persuade  them  to  return  home,  and  yet  cling  to  them  as 
her  last  ties  on  earth.  To  Ruth  action  was  better  than  passive 
grief,  deeds  than  the  tenderest  words ;  and,  therefore,  when 
Naomi  besought  her  to  follow  her  sister-in-law,  and  return  to 
her  own  people,  Ruth's  sole  answer  was  couched  in  words 
exquisitely  illustrative  of  the  deep  tenderness,  the  firm  devo- 
tion, the  beautiful  deference  of  her  individual  character  : — 
"  Entreat  me  not  to  leave  thee,  or  to  return  from  following 
thee.  Whither  thou  goest,  I  will  go  ;  and  where  thou  lodgest, 
I  will  lodge.  Thy  peoj'jle  shall  be  my  people,  and  thy  God  my 
God.  Where  thou  diest,  I  will  die,  and  there  will  I  be  buried. 
The  Lord  do  so  to  me,  and  more  also,  if  aught  but  death  part 
me  and  thee  !  " 

Not  the  most  carefully  studied  oration  could  breathe  more 


240  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

undying,  changeless,  self-submitting  devotion,  than  these  few 
and  simple  words.  Naomi  was  evidently  poor.  The  riches  of 
the  Hebrews  did  not  consist  then  of  such  wealth  as  would  pro- 
vide for  their  families  after  their  death  ;  land  and  its  produce 
constituted  their  possessions  ;  and  these,  where  there  were  no 
males  to  cultivate,  could  not  prevent  the  female  survivors  from 
being  poor  as  well  as  bereaved.  Naomi's  return  to  her  own 
land  would,  of  course,  according  to  the  law  of  God,  secure  her 
provision  ;  but  in  the  constant  rebellion  and  disobedience  of  the 
peop'e,  it  was  precarious  and-  uncertain — she  might  not  even  be 
recoo-nised  by  her  countrymen,  so  long  a  time  had  elapsed  since 
she  had  left  Ephratah.  By  her  earnest  entreaties  for  her 
daughters  to  return,  it  is  evident  that  sufficiency  and  comfort 
marked  their  own  homes.  Yet  Ruth  unhesitatingly  resigned 
them  all  to  share  her  mother-in-law's  fate,  whatever  it  might  be. 
Bidding  farewell  to  the  friends,  scenes,  and  associations  of  her 
youth,  not  for  a  time,  but  for  a  life,  some  cause  for  this  pure 
devoted  love  there  must  have  been.  Ruth's  simple  words  not 
only  reveal  the  beauty  of  her  own  character,  but  that  of  the 
aged  Naomi.  Aft'ection  is  ever  the  impulse  to  devotion  and 
unselfishness.  The  humali  heart  ever  needs  something  to  which, 
so  to  cling  as  to  be  drawn  out  ftom  self,  and  Ruth  was  not 
a  character  to  devote  her  affections  and  energies  to  an  unworthy 
object.  We  know  what  the  character  of  Naomi  must  have 
been  in  those  ten  or  twelve  years  of  which  we  hear  nothing, 
by  the  simple  devotedness  of  Ruth  in  her  adversity. 

And  what  a  comfort  to  that  lone  heart  must  have  been  the 
soothing  words  and  "  steadfost  mindedness"  of  the  Moabitish 
damsel.  Must  not  she  whom  we  shall  find,  under  every  circum- 
stance of  joy  or  grief,  looking  to  the  Lord  alone,  and  tracing 
all  things  from  His  Almighty  hand,  have  felt  this  comfort  came 
from  him — and  that  even  then  she  had  not  trusted  in  vain. 
In  the  midst  of  affliction  He  sent  consolation  ;  in  her  deepest 
loneliness,  raised  up  an  earthly  friend.  Here,  as  we  have 
already  seen  in  the  love  of  Isaac  for  Rebekah,  we  find  the  ten- 
der compassion  of  the  Eternal  for  His  creatures  manifested  in 
giving  human  comfort ;  He  not  only  pours  spiritual  balm  into 
the  bleeding  heart,  but  provides  some  being  on  whom  its  qui- 
vering atiections  may  again  find  rest,  and  whose  faithful  love 
shall  fill  the  aching  void.  To  the  bereaved  wife  and  mother, 
left  in  her  old  age  alone,  a  withered  tree  from  which  every  leaf 


PERIOD      III. NAOMI,  241 

and  flower  has  gone,  with  no  hope  of  ever  bearing  more,  Ruth's 
affection  must  have  been  indeed  a  precious  balm.  Withuut 
her,  Naomi  had  been  ulone,  and  oh,  at  all  times,  how  fearful  is 
tlie  suffering  included  in  that  word  !  Yet  more  in  the  adver- 
sity of  bereavement  and  old  age  I 

We  do  not  hear  how  long  the  travellers  journeyed,  but  Holy 
Writ  simply,  yet  forcibly,  brings  before  us  the  wonder  and  sym- 
pathy excited  by  the  Bethlehemites  on  Naomi's  return,  "  and 
it  came  to  pass,  when  they  were  come  to  Bethlehem,  that  all 
the  city  was  moved  about  them,  and  they  said,  '  Is  this 
Naomi  ? '  "  Can  we  not  fancy  the  whole  city  flocking  to  ook 
upon  the  travellers,  to  discover  if  indeed  the  rumor  of  Naomi's 
return  could  be  correct — and  anxious,  if  it  were,  to  give  her 
kindly  welcomes  ?  Struck  by  her  look  of  years  and  sorrow, 
remembering  her  only  as  the  fair  and  pleasant-looking  wife  of 
EHmelech,  then  in  her  freshest  prime,  marvelling  one  to  another, 
can  this  indeed  be  Naomi  ?  It  is  a  complete  picture  of  that 
primitive  union  of  family  and  tribe,  peculiar  to  early  Judaism. 
Men  were  not  then  so  engrossed  with  self,  as  to  feel  no  sympa- 
thy, no  interest,  out  of  their  own  confined  circle.  They  could 
sj)are  both  time  and  feeling  to  "  be  moved  "  at  the  return  of  a 
country-woman,  who  had  been  absent  so  long  ;  and  to  grieve 
with  her  at  those  heavy  afflictions  which  caused  her  to  reply  to 
their  eager  greetings,  "  Call  me  not  Naomi,  call  me  Mara,  for 
the  Almighty  hath  dealt  very  bitterly  with  me  ;  I  went  out  full, 
and  the  Lord  hath  brought  me  home  again  empty.  Why  then 
call  ye  me  Naomi,  seeing  that  the  Lord  hath  testified  against 
me,  and  the  Almighty  hath  afflicted  me  ? " 

Again  we  find  Naomi  in  meek  submission  referring  all  the 
events  of  her  life  to  her  God,  yet  uttering  no  complaint ;  she 
alludes  to  her  heavy  afflictions  indeed, — alludes  to  them  as 
afflictions,  as  God  himself  ordained — not  as  some  enthusiasts 
would  seek  to  persuade  us,  that  all  bereavements  are  to  be  con- 
sidered joys,  and  so  received  with  thanksgiving  and  praise,  that 
pain  is  not  to  be  pain,  if  sent  by  the  hand  of  the  Lord.  This  is  not 
the  spirit  of  the  Jewish  religion,  as  taught  and  practised  in  the 
Bible.  Our  Father  demands  not  such  violence  done  to  the 
heart  which  He  hath  so  mercifully  and  so  wisely  stored  with 
such  vast  capabilities  of  pleasure  and  of  pain.  He  demands 
not  that  sorrow  is  to  be  looked  on  as  joy,  and  joy  to  be  despised 
as  leading  us  far  from  Him.     When  He  tries  us  in  affliction, 


242  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

where  would  be  its  spiritual  improvement  in  faith  and  submis- 
sion, if  we  are  to  welcome  it  as  joy  ?  Where  would  be  the 
trial  of  pain,  if  it  be  not  pain  ?  No  !  God  loves  us  too  well  to 
forbid  the  healing  and  saving  influence  of  that  holy  grief, 
which,  without  detaching  us  from  the  sweet  and  lovely  links  of 
earth  that  He  Himself  vouchsafed,  will  yet  lead  us  lo  Him, 
convinced  that  He  afflicts  for  our  eternal  good  ;  that  He  acts, 
even  in  bereavement,  through  His  changeless  love,  and  that  He 
who  smote,  in  His  own  time  will  heal.  No  sorrow  has  yet 
been  soothed  by  the  vain  philosophy  which  would  seek  to 
lessen  either  its  pang  or  its  extent.  The  sufferer  must  weep 
and  mourn  awhile ;  but  if  it  be  in  the  spirit  of  Naomi  there 
will  still  be  comfort  found. 

Naomi  makes  no  complaint ;  but  how  deeply  she  feels  the 
contrast  between  her  return  to,  and  her  departure  from,  Bethle- 
hem, we  read  in  her  shrinking  from  the  name  of  her  youth, 
which,  signifying  pleasantness,  sweetness,  and  grace,  too  pain- 
fully recalled  the  days  when  those  terms  were  apphcable,  not 
otily  to  the  charms  of  her  per-onal  character,  but  the  pleasant- 
ness and  sweetness  of  her  dail}'  life.  Bitterness  and  sadness 
were  more  applicable  to  her  present  lot,  than  the  sweetness  and 
joyance  which  had  characterized  it  heretofore  ;  and  therefore 
she  bids  them  call  her  Mara — but  it  is  not  complaint ;  it  is  but 
the  natural  shrinking  of  humanity  from  the  memory  of  the  past, 
contrasted  with  the  suffering  of  the  present. 

It  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  barley  harvest  Naomi  and  her 
daughter-in-law  arrived  at  Bethlehem.  There,  it  appears  from 
the  context,  the  former  sought  a  retired  and  very  humble  dwell- 
ing. Notwithstanding  that  she  had  a  wealthy  kinsman,  of  the 
family  of  Elimelech,  who,  had  she  applied  to  him,  was  bound 
by  the  law  to  give  her  all  the  relief  she  needed,  the  gentle, 
unassuming  nature  of  the  widow  preferred  retirement  and  lowli- 
ness, to  claiming  the  attention  of  her  wealthy  kinsman.  The 
conti'ast  between  iheir  resjjective  positions  was  too  great ;  and 
how  beautifully  does  this  shrinking  from  making  herself  known 
to  Boaz,  or  even  from  revealing  his  existence  to  Ruth,  betray 
her  gentle  dignity  ! — and  that  self-esteem,  ever  proceeding  from 
true  piety.  The  character  of  Naomi  is  consistent  in  all  its  parts, 
forcibly  marking  one  who,  from  youth  to  age,  was  found  true 
to  herself  and  to  her  God. 

The  holy  narration  tells  us,  that  "  it  was  RutKs  hap  to  light 


PERIOD      III. NAOMI.  243 

on  a  part  of  the  field  belonging  to  Boaz."  Had  she  known  his 
near  connexion,  her  refinement  and  delicacy  of  feeling  would 
have  led  her  to  any  other  field  in  preference,  'J  he  whole  scene 
which  follows  is  a  most  beautiful  illustratioii  of  the  domestic 
manners  and  customs  of  the  early  Jews,  and  all  in  exact  accord- 
ance with  the  given  law.  The  kind  and  conciliatory  manner 
of  Boaz,  "  the  mighty  man  of  wealth,"  to  his  dependents  ;  his 
salutation,  and  their  reply ;  evince  how  completely  the  thought 
and  recollection  of  the  God  of  Israel  was  entwined  with  the 
daily  work  of  his  people.  The  intimate  acquaintance  which 
Boaz  must  have  had  with  all  his  household,  male  and  female, 
from  his  instant  discovery  of  the  youthful  stranger,  ard  the 
reply  of  the  reapers,  all  breathe  a  refinement  and  civilization  of 
feeling  and  action,  found  at  this  period  only  amidst  the  people 
of  the  Lord. 

Boaz  confirmed  the  kindness  of  his  dependents,  by  address- 
ing Ruth  in  words  of  such  gentle  courtesy,  peculiarly  adapted 
to  reassure  and  soothe  her.  He  not  only  tells  her  to  glean  in 
his  field  alone — there  was  no  need  for  her  to  go  further — but 
to  abide  by  his  maidens,  thus  removing  unconsciously  all  pain- 
ful feelings  on  her  being  a  Moabitish  stranger,  which  would  keep 
her  aloof.  He  told  her,  too,  to  follow  close  after  the  reapers, 
that  she  should  receive  neither  harshness  nor  insult,  and  when 
she  was  athirst,  to  drink  freely  from  that  which  the  young  men 
had  drawn. 

With  the  respect  ever  proffered  to  real  goodness,  and 
astonished  at  such  unexpected  kindness,  Ruth  replied  in  words, 
the  meekness  and  humility  of  which  increased  Boaz's  preposses- 
sion in  her  favor,  and  confirmed  all  which  rumor  had  already  pro- 
claimed concerning  her.  "  Why  have  I  found  grace  in  thy  eyes," 
she  said,  "  that  thou  shouldst  take  this  knowledge  of  me,  seeing 
I  am  a  stranger?"  And  how  must  her  heai't  have  throbbed 
with  natural  pleasure  at  Boaz's  rejoinder,  "  It  hath  been  fully 
showed  me  all  that  thou  hast  done  unto  thy  mother-in-law, 
since  the  death  of  thine  husband  :  how  thou  hast  left  father  and 
mother,  and  the  land  of  thy  nativity,  and  art  come  unto  a 
people  which  thou  knewest  not  heretofore.  The  Lord  recom- 
pense thy  work,  and  a  full  reward  be  given  thee  of  the  Lord 
God  of  Israel,  under  whose  wings  thou  art  come  to  trust." 
Deserved  approbation  is  sweet,  however  some  stern  Stoics  may 
say  that  virtue  is  its  own  reward,  and  if  conscience  approves 


244  THE       WOMEN       Of       ISRAEL. 

we  need  no  more.  Ruth  must  at  once  liave  felt  that  it  was  not 
the  mere  kindness  springing  from  a  good  heart,  which  dictated 
Boaz's  conduct  to  her.  but  that  she  was  known  and  appreciated, 
stranger  as  she  was.  A  coarser  and  more  worldly  nature  than 
that  of  Boaz,  even  while  it  equally  benefited,  would  have 
exalted  itself,  not  the  being  it  served  ;  would  have  manifested 
kindness  only  because  it  would  obtain  personal  praise,  and  care 
little  for  the  feeling  of  the  person  served.  Boaz,  on  the  con- 
trary, removed  the  idea  of  obligation  to  himself  by  elevating 
Ruth,  and  making  her  believe  that  to  her  own  virtue,  not  to  his 
kindness,  she  owed  the  attention  she  received.  "  Let  me  still 
find  fevor  in  thy  sight,  my  lord,"  was  her  grateful  eply  ;  "  for 
thou  hast  comforted  me,  and  hast  spoken  friendly  to  thy  hand- 
maid, though  I  be  not  like  one  of  thine  own  handmaidens."  We 
never  find  Ruth  forgetting  her  origin,  nor  in  any  way  assuming 
the  piivileges  which  her  acceptance  of  and  belief  in  Naomi's 
God  might  naturally  have  assigned  her ;  a  lowliness  which 
secured  her,  unasked,  the  pi'ivileges  which,  from  a  contrary 
conduct,  would,  no  doubt,  have  lieen  refused. 

Not  content  with  desiring  her  freely  to  share  the  meal  pro- 
vided for  his  reapers,  Boaz  himself  reached  her  the  "  parched 
corn," — seeing  that  she  ate  till  she  was  sufficed ;  and  when  she 
rose  up  again  to  glean,  he  gave  ordei's  to  let  her  glean  amid 
the  sheaves,  and  reproach  her  not,  and  also  "  to  let  fall  some 
handfuls  on  purpose  for  her."  His  generosity,  and  her  own 
perseverance,  enabled  her  to  take  home  an  ephah  of  barley. 
And  Naomi,  eager  to  bring  her  child  refreshment,  not  knowing 
how  she  might  have  fared  during  the. day,  "brought  forth  and 
gave  to  her  tlie  fi)f»d  which  she  had  reserved  for  her  ;"  affection- 
ately asking  from  her,  at  th<^  same  time,  where  and  what  she 
had  gleaned,  and  fervently  blessing  him  who  had  thus  taken 
knowledge  of  hei'.  RuthV  reply  elicited  a  burst  of  th;i.nksgiving 
from  Naomi.  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  hath  not  left  otf  his 
kindness  to  the  living  and  the  dead."  She  felt  it  was  no  chance, 
but  her  God,  who  had  guided  Ruth  to  the  field  of  their  kins- 
man, and  infused  his  heart  with  kindness  towards  her.  Con- 
vinced now  that  their  restoration  .to  their  rights  would  be 
brouglit  about  by  the  direct  agency  of  her  God,  she  no  longer 
scrupled  to  impail  to  Ruth  the  near  relationship  of  Boaz ;  and 
when  Ruth  rejieated  his  injunctions,  to  keep  fast  by  his  young 
men  until  they  had  ended  all  his  harvest,  Naomi,  still  tracing 


PERIOD      III. NAOMI.  245 

divine  agency,  gladly  replied,  "  It  is  good,  my  daughter,  that 
thou  go  out  with  his  maidens,  that  they  meet  thee  not  in  any 
other  tield."  And  Ruth,  in  unquestioning  obedience,  "  kept  fast 
by  the  maidens  of  Boaz,  to  glean  unto  the  end  of  the  barley 
and  wheat  harvest,  and  dwelt  with  her  mother-in-law."  Not 
all  that  was  in  all  probability  reported  of  her  devotion  and 
beauty,  could  tempt  her  to  turn  aside  from  her  lowly  path  of 
usefulness  and  good.  Novelty  and  change  could  have  had  no 
glare  for  her,  or  she  might  have  restlessly  longed  to  join  the 
gleaners  of  other  fields.  She  was  too  grateful  for  the  friendly 
kindness  of  Boaz,  too  devoted  to  her  mother-in-law,  to  wish  to 
go  beyond  the  field  of  the  former,  or  the  humble  house  of  the 
latter.  "  Where  thou  lodgest  I  will  lodge,"  she  had  said,  and 
her  words  were  but  the  index  of  her  actions. 

But  the  time  had  now  come  when  her  earthly  lot  was  to 
undergo  a  material  change.  Naomi,  who  had,  in  all  probability, 
passed  the  intervening  days  in  thought  and  prayer,  determined 
on  seeking  the  rest  and  prosperity  of  her  devoted  daughter, 
according  to  the  dictates  of  the  law.  She  therefore  gave  Ruth 
the  necessary  directions — directions  which  to  us  may  appear 
strange,  and  even  revolting,  but  which  seem,  in  the  time  of 
Naomi,  to  have  been  authorized  by  custom,  and  therefore  con- 
taining nothing  whatever  indelicate  or  forward.  To  Ruth,  as  a 
Moabitess,  the  whole  proceedings  might  have  felt  unusual,  and 
perhaps  even  painful ;  but  we  have  neither  remark  nor  hesita- 
tion. She  asks  not  wherefore,  but  simply  sa3^s,  "All  that  thou 
sayest  unto  me  I  will  do."  She  had  proved  the  affection  and 
wisdom  of  her  mother-in-law  much  too  Fong  to  doubt  them  now, 
however  her  own  feelings  and  judgmont  might  shrink  from  the 
course  of  action  proposed.  Naomi's  influence  had  ever  been  that 
of  looi\  nut  of  authority,  and  therefore  was  she  ever  sure  of 
unquestioning  obedience. 

lluman  means  Naomi  refused  not  to  adopt,  but  still  she  left 
the  entire  end  of  these  means  to  the  justice  and  mercy  of  her 
God.  She  knew  that  in  His  hand  was  the  heart  of  Boaz,  and 
therefore  she  merely  told  Ruth  how  to  obtain  his  attention, 
leaving  it  to  him  "  to  tell  thee  what  thou  shalt  do;"'  convinced 
that  the  Lord,  in  whom  she  trusted,  would  order  the  end 
aright. 

All  took  place  as  she  had  anticipated. 

Waking  in  terror  at  midnight — a  terror  not  a  little  increased 


246  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

by  finding  some  one  lying  at  his  feet — Boaz  demanded,  "  Who 
art  thou  ?"  and  received  such  a  reply  as  at  once  calmed  his 
affright,  and  roused  him  to  a  renewal  of  all  the  nobleness  and 
generosity  of  his  character.  Some  of  our  Hebrew  translators  of 
this  book  suppose  Ruth's  words,  "  Spread,  therefore,  thy  skirt 
over  thine  handmaid,  for  thou  art  a  near  kinsman,"  to  signify, 
"  Give  me  thy  protection  as  a  husband  ;"  and,  as  such,  was  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  law ;  we  rather  incline  towards  the 
opinion. 

The  reply  of  Boaz  reassured  the  trembling  suppliant ;  for 
steadily  she  had  adhered  to  the  straight  path  of  duty,  "  follow- 
ing neither  young  men,  neither  rich  nor  poor,"  so  that  the  whole 
city  "  knew  that  she  was  a  virtuous  woman."  He  proceeded  to 
inform  her  that  he  was  indeed  their  near  kinsman,  but  there 
was  one  still  nearer,  whose  duty  it  was  to  perform  the  husband's 
part ;  but  that  if  he  refused,  even  he,  Boaz,  pledged  himself  to 
do  so,  as  the  Lord  liveth,  bidding  her  lie  down  till  morning ; 
but  ere  the  day  broke  so  that  one  could  recognise  another,  Ruth 
rose  to  depart,  encouraged  so  to  do  by  him  with  whom  she  had 
so  fearlessly  trusted  herself,  and  whose  care  for  her  reputation 
was  tender  and  thoughtful  as  a  brother's.  Nor  did  he  send  her 
away  empty.  Fearful  lest  she  and  her  mother-in-law  might  be 
in  want  ere  the  business  could  be  settled,  he  filled  her  veil  with 
six  measures  of  barley,  with  which  she  returned  to  her  home  ; 
and  Naomi  bid  her  sit  calmly  down  until  they  knew  how  the 
matter  would  fall. 

There  is  no  need  to  transcribe  the  events  detailed  in  the 
fourth  chapter,  from  the  1st  to  the  12th  verse.  A  reference  to 
the  word  of  God  itself  is  all  that  is  needed  on  the  part  of  our 
readers,  to  impress  them  forcibly  with  the  beautiful  picture  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  our  ancestors  which  it  presents. 
The  gate  of  the  city  was  always  the  place  of  public  judgment, 
that  all  the  people  might  be  aware  of  what  was  going  on,  and 
give  their  suffrages,  and  witness  for  or  against.  Thither  Boaz 
repaired  the  very  next  morning  after  his  interview  with  Ruth, 
and  sat  him  down,  waiting  the  appearance  of  the  person  he  had 
named  as  the  nearer  of  kin  than  himself  He  hailed  him  on 
his  approach,  and  the  man  willingly  turned  aside  from  his 
intended  path,  and  sat  down  by  the  gate.  Boaz  next  assembled 
ten  elders,  and  stated  his  business.  The  field  which  Naomi 
wished  disposed  of,  the  kinsman  seemed  willing  to  redeem  :  but 


PERIOU       111.  NAOMI.  24^ 

the  remainder  of  his  duty,  to  rai=;e  up  the  name  of  the  dead  to 
his  inheritance,  he  refused,  on  the  plea  that  to  do  so  would 
interfere  with  his  own  inheritance ;  requiring  Boaz,  in  conse- 
quence, to  redeem  the  right  for  himself,  as  he,  the  nearest  kins- 
man, could  not ;  loosening  at  the  same  time  his  shoe,  or  glove, 
as  some  commentators  believe,  and  giving  it  to  his  neighbor,  as 
confirmation  of  his  words.  Boaz  then  addressed  the  elders  and 
the  people,  bidding  them  be  witness  that  he  had  purchased  of 
the  hand  of  Naomi  all  that  was  Elimelech,  Chilion,  and  Mah- 
lon's,  and  Ruth,  the  wife  of  Itlahlon,  to  be  his  wife,  that  he  might 
raise  up  the  name  of  the  dead,  and  so  let  it  not  be  cut  off  from 
his  brethren,  or  the  gate  of  his  place.  And  the  elders  of  the 
people  bore  witness  joyfully,  coupled  with  earnest  aspirations 
that  the  Lord  might  make  the  woman  he  had  chosen,  hke 
Rachel  and  like  Leah,  who  had  built  up  the  house  of  Israel ; 
and  that  he  himself  might  "  do  worthily  in  Ephratah,  and  be 
famous  in  Bethlehem." 

And  so  he  was :  for  as  the  great-grandfather  of  David,  the 
name  of  Boaz  must  indeed  be  still  famous  in  Judah,  and  dear 
to  Israel.  The  uncomplaining  submission  and  lowly  trust  of 
Naomi,  and  the  filial  obedience  and  devotion  of  Ruth,  were 
both  alike  rewarded  ;  for  the  latter  not  only  became  the  wife 
of  the  generous  and  noble-mindtd  Boaz,  but,  in  due  course  of 
time,  God  grantt^d  her  a  son  ;  and  Naomi,  who  had  believed 
herself  but  a  withered  branch,  to  which  neither  joy  nor  fruitful- 
ness  might  ever  return,  "  t^iik  the  child,  and  laid  it  on  her 
bosom,  and  became  nurse  to  it."  We  may  read  in  the  lively 
greetings  of  the  women  of  Bethlehem,  the  joy  which  this  event 
occasi)ned,  and  their  affectionate  sympathy  in  Naomi's  previous 
affliction.  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord,"  they  said,  "  who  hath  not 
left  thee  this  day  without  a  kinsman,  that  his  name  may  be 
famous  in  Israel.  And  he  shall  be  unto  thee  a  restorer  of  life, 
and  a  nourisher  of  thine  old  age,  for  thy  daughter-in-law,  who 
loveth  thee,  and  who  is  better  to  thee  than  seven  sons,  hath 
borne  him." 

How  beautifully  do  these  words  express  the  women  of  Israel's 
appreciation  and  love  of  the  gentle  Moabitess !  The  babe 
would  be  a  restorer  of  Naomi's  life,  and  a  cherisher  of  her  old 
age,  for  he  loas  Ruth's  son.  She  who  had  been  to  Naomi 
better  than  seven  sons  (in  the  Hebrew  the  number  is  unhmited), 
would  not  fail  to  rear  up  her  child  in  such  virtue  and  holiness 

VOL.   I.  12 


248  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

as  would  make  his  name  indeed  precious  in  Israel,  and  a  bless- 
ing to  his  grandmother.  Nor  can  we  doubt  that  the  affection 
and  devotedness  marking  their  mutual  intercourse  in  adversity, 
was  lessened  in  prosperity.  The  love  which  had  been  so 
mutually  proved  was  not  likely  to  decrease,  but  would  rather 
deepen  with  every  passing  year. 

With  the  genealogy  of  Boaz,  down  to  David,  this  most  inter- 
esting book  concludes  ;  and  before  we  proceed  to  notice  the 
beautiful  lessons  of  domestic  life  which  it  inculcates,  we  would 
endeavor  to  prove  how  mistaken  is  the  objection,  sometimes 
brought  forward,  that  Ruth,  a  Moabitess,  should  have  been  the 
ancestress  of  David,  the  elected  servant  of  the  Lord.  When 
Ruth  resigned  alike  home,  parents,  and  the  gods  of  her  youth, 
she  voluntarily  engrafted  herself  upon  the  children  of  God  ;  and 
we  know  that  such  engrafting  was  permitted,  not  only  from  the 
Law,  but  from  its  after-explanation  by  the  prophets.  In  the 
Law  we  repeatedly  find  the  command  to  save  the  virgins  alive, 
even  of  those  nations  whom  they  were  commanded  to  extermi- 
nate, that  they  might  be  brought  to  the  worship  of  the  One 
true  God,  and  multiply  Israel.  In  the  Prophets  we  read,  that 
those  of  the  stranger,  whether  male  or  female,  who  voluntarily 
accepted  the  covenants  of  the  Lord,  and  kept  His  sabbaths  and 
appointed  feasts  and  ordinances,  even  had  they  been  only 
eunuchs  before,  were  (see  Isaiah,  chap.  Ixvi.  3-8),  instead  of 
being  despised,  to  receive  a  place  and  a  name  in  His  house, 
better  even  than  sons  and  daughters,  an  everlasting  name 
which  shall  not  be  cut  off,  to  be  brought  to  the  holy  mountain, 
and  made  joyful  in  His  house  of  prayer ;  and  their  burnt-offer- 
ings and  sacrifices,  the  essential  privilege  of  the;  Holy  People, 
accepted  on  God's  altar.  In  the  Law,  too,  we  find  repeated 
injunctions, — "  love  ye  the  stranger,  for  ye  were  strangers  in 
the  land  of  Egypt ;"  and  by  the  whole  history  of  Ruth  we  see 
how  precisely  this  lavv  was  obeyed.  She  was  one  of  those  com- 
ing under  the  denomination  of  "  the  stranger,"  and  who  yet, 
from  her  acceptance  of  the  Lord's  sabbaths,  covenants,  &c.,  all 
of  which  is  implied  in  her  own  words,  "  thy  God  shall  be  my 
God,"  deserved  and  received  the  privileges  enumerated  above. 

She  was  yet  more  than  a  daughter  in  His  sight,  because  her 
acceptance  of,  and  obedience  to  the  Law,  were  entirely  voluntary  ; 
not  merelj^  received  from  education  and  as  heritage.  That  God 
is  no  respecter  of  persons,  we  read  throughout  the  whole  of  Ilis 


PERIOD      III. NAOMI.  249 

changeless  word.  Faithfulness  and  virtue,  the  heart, — V;ut 
neither  birth  nor  appearance — are  valued  by  Him.  And  when, 
therefore,  Ruth  turns  from  all  the  associations  and  scenes  of  her 
youth,  to  adopt  and  accept  the  religion  of  Naomi,  and  faithfully 
serve  her  God,  she  is  in  act  no  longer  a  Moabitess  (and  is  only 
called  so  to  designate  her  as  a  stranger  amidst  Israel),  but  as 
worthy,  if  not  even  more  so,  to  be  the  ancestress  of  David,  than 
the  lineal  descendants  of  Abraham,  who  were  Israelites,  because 
God  had  selected  them  so  to  be ;  not  for  their  own  sakes,  or 
their  own  worth,  but  simply  for  the  love  He  bore,  and  the  pro- 
mise He  made  unto  His  favored  servants.  Ruth  became  an 
Israelite  from  voluntary  adoption.  Her  filial  devotion  and 
reverence  was  the  most  exquisite  illustration  of  hoio  she  not 
only  accepted,  but  obeyed  the  Law ;  and,  from  the  character 
of  David,  still  more  than  even  his  selection,  we  may  easily  infer 
how  faithfully  she  not  only  obeyed  the  Law  herself,  but  trans- 
mitted it  to  her  descendants.  That  the  Eternal  should  have 
selected  a  king  whose  great-grandmother  was  of  Moabitish 
descent,  cannot,  then,  we  think,  with  any  justice  be  brought 
forward  as  matter  either  of  wonder  or  objection.  If  it  were 
unlawful  for  any  stranger  to  be  engrafted  ui)on  Israel  we  should 
not  find  so  many  laws  regarding  "  the  strani^er"  in  the  Mosaic 
code  itself,  nor  their  pi-acticul  commentary  in  Isaiah,  as  quoted 
above.  Her  virtue  and  goodness  gave  her  favor  in  the  sight 
ahke  of  God  and  man,  and  rendered  her  worthy  of  being  the 
ancestress  of  that  holy  line  whence  the  Messiah  himself  will 
spring — while  her  voluntary  acceptance  of  the  God,  and  of 
course  the  faith,  of  Naomi,  removed  from  her  own  Moabitish 
birth  all  reproach,  and  gave  her  yet  a  dearer  name  in  the  eyes 
of  God  and  of  His  people  than  even  that  of  daughter. 

To  us,  as  women  of  Israel,  the  whole  book  of  Ruth  teems 
with  unspeakable  consolation  and  sup])ort.  It  is  a  picture  so 
vivid  of  the  manners,  customs,  aye,  and  even  feelings  of  Israel  at 
that  period,  that  even  Gentile  writers  are  struck  by  it,  and  refer 
to  it  with  high  eulogiums  on  its  touching  beauty  and  impressive 
truth.  Shall  we  then  value  it  less,  and  refuse  to  di^aw  from  it 
the  strong  confirmation  which  it  contains  of  our  contested  point 
— the  refined  and  elevated  position  of  the  women  of  Israel 
themselves,  and  the  tender  yet  respectful  consideration  with 
which  they  were  regarded  by  their  brethren  ?     Will  any  ona 


■2^0  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

point  of  Naomi's  character  permit  us  to  suppose,  that  duritiig 
her  husband's  lifetime  she  was  merely  a  slave,  with  neither  reli- 
gious, moral,  noi'  intellectual  trainins^  ?  Had  she  been  such  in 
Ehmelech's  lifetime,  such  she  must  have  remained.  Instead  of 
which,  from  her  determination  to  return  to  her  own  land,  and 
worship  her  God  once  more  amongst  her  own  people,  we  per- 
ceive that  she  was  a  woman  of  strong  mind  and  unfailing 
energy ;  while  from  the  afiection  of  both  her  sons'  wives,  and 
the  devotion  of  one,  we  must  equally  infer  that  she  possessed, 
and  in  her  domestic  duties  must  have  displayed,  such  winning 
and  amiable  qualities,  as  to  call  such  affection  forth  ;  these 
characteristics,  and  all  which  follow — the  refined  and  retiring 
dignity,  the  correct  judgment,  and  also  the  jjatient  faith  in  her 
God — all  were  quite  incompatible  with  a  degraded  position 
either  individually  or  socially.  It  is  very  clear,  then,  that  not 
in  any  received  Law  of  Israel  could  the  position  of  the  women 
of  Israel  have  been  that  which  our  enemies  so  ignorantly  report. 
If  two  Laws  were  in  action  at  this  period,  one  must  have  been 
an  exact  repetition  of  the  other,  or  in  a  book  like  that  of  Ruth,  5^, 
so  strikingly  illustrative  of  the  national  character  and  customs,  "y 
some  difference  must  have  been  discernible.  X 

If,  then,  the  charge  on  modern  Judaism  be  really  founded  on 
apparent  truth,  it  must  be  a  state  of  things  brought  about  by 
the  awful  horrors  of  persecution,  and  their  natural  effect  in  nar- 
rowing and  brutalizing  the  human  mind.  In  all  that  relates  to 
Ruth  too,  we  see  the  real  light  in  which  the  Hebrew  woman 
was  regarded,  very  clearly.  We  should  not  find  her  filial  devo- 
tion and  individual  goodness  so  appreciated  by  all  the  Bethle- 
hemites,  female  as  well  as  male,  were  not  virtue  and  goodness 
in  woman  subjects  of  admiration,  of  cherishing,  and  respect.  It 
was  not  only  in  obedience  to  the  Law,  which  commanded  love 
and  kindness  to  be  shown  towards  the  stranger,  that  Boaz  so 
encouraged  and  cherished  her  when  first  gleaning  in  his  field. 
He  expressly  states  the  wherefore,  because  of  her  devotion  to  her 
mother-in-law,  and  her  having  given  up  her  father's  gods  to 
accept  Him  under  whose  wings  she  had  come  to  trust.  "  A  full 
reward  shall  be  given  thee  from  the  Lord,"  he  says  ;  thus  mark- 
ing her  as  accepted  and  cherished  by  God  as  well  as  man.  The 
most  reverential  yet  fatherly  care  marks  the  whole  of  his  con- 
duct towards  her ;  and  here  we  see  very  strongly  marked  tho 


PERIOD      III.  NAOMI.  251 

obedience  to  the  law  instituted  for  the  benefit  of  the  stranLijer; 
he  not  only  "showed  kindness,"  but  HterHlly  left  fur  lier  the 
"  gleanings  of  his  field." 

The  tlnrd  ciiapter  of  the  sacred  story  most  emphatically  proves 
the  superiority  of  morality  and  civiHzation  in  Israel,  over  the 
known  world.  In  what  other  nation  could  Ruth  have  so  trusted 
herself,  as  she  did  to  the  honor  and  justice  of  Boaz  ?  How  fully 
must  Naomi  have  been  assured  of  the  safety  of  her  child,  or  how 
could  she  have  counselled  such  a  mode  of  proceedmg  ?  and  how 
completely  she  was  justified  in  her  confidence,  we  read  in  Boaz's 
anxiety  to  save  Ruth  from  all  insulting  remarks,  by  letting  it 
"not  be  known  that  a  woman  had  been  to  the  floor." 

Again,  in  Boaz's  instant  pursuance  of  Ruth's  suit,  we  very 
clearly  perceive  that  women  must  have  been  considered  of  some 
account ;  and  also  another  important  point  in  a  national  view, 
Boaz's  exact  obedience  to  the  formula  of  the  Law,  in  calling  the 
nearest  kinsman  to  give  his  attention  to  the  subject,  and  decide, 
notwithstanding  his  own  evident  anxiety  to  obtain  Ruth  as 
his  wife,  unquestionably  proves,  that  as  the  Law  was  so  strictly 
kept  in  one  jmint,  so  it  would  be  in  all ;  and  consequently  there 
could  have  been,  neither  practically  nor  theoretically,  any  one 
single  statute  to  the  disparagement  of  woman. 

The  very  joy  of  the  whole  people  in  Boaz's  decision  to  make 
Ruth  his  wife  ;  their  hearty  congratulations,  and  earnest  wishes  for 
hii  welfare,  and  hers,  that  she  might  be  as  Leah  and  Rachel ;  the 
delight  of  the  women,  and  their  joyous  sympathy  with  Naomi 
at  the  unexpected  issue  to  all  her  misfortunes ;  all  prove  the 
beautiful  unity  and  love  marking  the  people  of  the  Lord.  All 
seemed  to  vie  with  each  other  in  making  their  respective  tribes 
as  one  affectionate  family,  bound  by  the  same  ties,  hoping  the 
same  hope,  trusting  the  same  God,  weeping  with  those  that  wept, 
and  rejoicing  with  those  that  joyed. 

Such  a  state  of  things  could  never  have  existed  if  the  women 
of  Israel  had  not  been,  morally,  spiritually,  and  intellectually,  on 
a  perfect  equality  with  man. 

Regarding  the  book  of  Ruth  in  its  final  bearings — that  is,  as 
it  concerns  women  in  general — we  are  particularly  struck  with 
the  exquisite  lesson  of  maternal  and  filial  aflfection  which  it 
teaches.  The  beauty  of  Ruth's  words  and  actions  sometimes 
occupies  attention  alone,  to  the  exclusion  of  the  tenderness  charac- 
terizing  Naomi,  which,   to  our   feelings,   is  equally  touching 


252  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

and  impressive.  Ruth's  determination  to  quit  her  own  land, 
her  parents,  and  their  gods,  was  indeed  one  of  beautiful  self- 
devotion  ;  but  it  was  evidently  love,  not  duty,  which  impelled 
it,  and  that  love  must  have  been  called  forth  l)y  the  tenderness 
she  had  originally  received.  Seldom  is  the  love  of  the  young 
excited  to  such  an  extent  towards  an  elder,  unless  by  affection 
and  appreciation  from  that  elder,  invited  so  to  love ;  and  not 
only  invited  but  retained  by  unwavering  kindness  and  regard. 
That  such  feelings  had  always  actuated  Naomi  towards  her 
daughter-in-law,  we  infer,  from  the  caressing  tenderness  with 
which,  in  all  that  passes  between  them,  she  invariably  addressed 
her.  We  never  can  read  either  coldness  or  indiffijrence,  much 
less  the  harsh  mistrust,  breathing  often  more  in  tone  than  actual 
words,  which  sometimes  characterizes  the  manner  of  an  elder 
towards  a  younger.  All  she  says,  either  in  persuasion  to  return, 
or  in  advice  or  inquiry,  is  with  the  same  caressing  love.  In  her 
bringing  forth  on  Ruth's  return  the  remains  of  the  day's  meal, 
which  she  had  been  compelled  to  take  while  Ruth  was  absent, 
how  touchingly  we  read  the  love  lingering  with  her  absent  child, 
the  thought  of  savino;  for  her  the  evening  meal,  and  bringing  it 
with  eager  haste  the  moment  Ruth  appeared,  not  knowing  how 
she  might  have  fared  during  the  hot  and  weary  day. 

Oh  !  while  we  would  have  our  young  sisters  imitate,  as  they 
cannot  fail  to  love,  the- conduct  of  Ruth,  will  not  their  elders  do 
well  to  ponder  on,  and  imitate,  the  tenderness  of  Naomi  ? 
Youth  will  not,  cannot  love,  a  pure  unselfish  love,  unless  invited 
so  to  do ;  no,  not  even  in  the  sanctuary  of  home,  not  even 
parents,  unless  love,  not  only  felt  but  displayed  in  confidence 
and  caressing  kindness,  marks  the  parental  conduct.  Duty  done 
on  either  side  is  not  enough,  for  it  is  not  according  to  the  spirit 
of  the  Lord,  and  of  His  word.  There  love  predominates,  and  so 
should  it  predominate  in  the  homes  of  His  children.  We  do  not 
deny  that  it  does,  but  we  would  have  it  displayed  as  well  as  felt, 
by  every  member  of  that  hallowed  temple,  home.  Brothers  and 
sisters,  parents  and  children,  twined  together  in  that  sacred 
silvery  link,  unbroken  even  by  death  ;  for  they  know  it  is  immor- 
tal. Love  not  only  felt,  but  breathing  in  every  tone,  and 
actuating  every  deed ;  confidence  and  trust — mutually  given, 
mutually  felt.  How  thrice  blessed  would  such  things  make 
home  !  The  parental  heart  would  not  then  bleed  in  secret,  at 
what  seems  like  neglect  and  unkindness,  if  not  an  utter  want  of 


PERIOD      III.  NAOMI.  253 

love.  Nor  would  the  young  spirit  shrink  within  itself,  chilled 
and  sad — yearning  for  aflection  sjjoken  as  well  as  felt ;  and 
utterly  unconscious  how  truly  and  how  deeply  they  may  still 
be  loved.  How  different  is  that  home  where  no  gentle  word  is 
heard — no  caress  asked  for,  ur  voluntarily  bestowed — no  inter- 
change of  mutual  thought ;  but  each  member  walks  alone,  seek- 
ing no  sympathy  sa\  e  frum  the  stranger,  caring  not  to  shed  one 
flower  on  the  parental  hearth,  and  believing  they  have  no  [ilace 
in  the  parental  heart  save  as  a  child,  words  of  which,  until  they 
are  parents  themselves,  they  know  not,  guess  not,  the  unutterable 
meaning.  How  different  is  such  a  home  to  that  where  love  is 
visible !  Where  parents  and,  as  its  natural  consequence,  chil- 
dren vie  with  each  other,  as  to  who  can  prove  it  most ;  and  by 
the  words  and  manners  of  daily  life,  throw  such  a  beautiful  lialo 
even  over  its  cares  and  sorrows,  as  inexpressibly  heightens  its 
sweetest  joys. 

There  are  some  to  doubt  the  love  that  dwells  in  caressing 
words  and  a  loving  manner.  Yet  why  should  it  be  doubted, 
till  its  absence  has  been  proved  ?  Why  should  the  gentle 
power  be  despised,  which  will  make  daily  life  happier,  and  so 
inexpressibly  soothe  the  sickness  and  sorrow  which  ask  but  love 
alone.  No  !  It  is  the  icy  surface  we  must  doubt,  for  never  yet 
were  there  warm  and  unselfish  loving  hearts,  who  could  think 
it  necessary  to  suppress  such  fond  emotions  in  the  sweet  sanctu- 
ary of  home.  It  is  the  cold  at  heart  who  never  give  domestic 
affections  vent,  and  can  therefore  never  hope  so  to  attract  the 
young,  as  to  rouse  them  to  evince  the  love  they  could  have  feli, 
or  proffer  more  than  the  cold,  dull  routine  of  daily  duty.  We 
must  love  to  he  loved — we  must  evince  that  love,  would  we  so 
unite  y^ung  hearts  to  our  own,  as,  if  needed,  to  sacrifice  all  of 
self  for  us,  or  to  devote  life,  energy,  hope,  all  to  our  service. 
Would  wi  have  our  daughters  Ruths,  we  must  be  Naomis ;  we 
have  no  right,  no  pretence,  to  demand  more  than  we  evince,  as 
well  as  give.  Reserve,  coldness,  command,  may  win  us  duty, 
but  duty  in  the  domestic  circle  is  a  poor  substitute  for  love. 
Even  kindness  in  act  is  often  undervalued,  nay,  absolutely 
imknown,  if  it  be  not  hallowed  by  the  kindness  of  manner  and 
of  word.  In  the  world,  words  and  manner  may  be  deceiving,  but 
not  in  the  temple  of  home  ;  for  the  love  which  would  there 
dictate  kindness  of  manner  must  equally  incite  kind  deeds. 
The  latter  may  exist  without  the  former,  and  if  only  one  may 


254  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

have  existence,  we  may  grant  the  superiority  of  good  deeds, 
though  there  are  some  griefs,  some  trials,  which  kindly  words 
may  soothe,  where  action  has  no  power.  Oh  !  let  us  unite  the 
two  as  Piuth  and  Naomi — and  however  dark  and  troubled  our 
earthly  coui'se,  a  light  will  shine  within  our  homes,  which  no 
sorrow,  nor  care,  nor  even  death,  will  have  power  to  darken  or 
remove.  God  is  Love — the  spirit  of  His  word  is  Love ;  and 
would  we  indeed  walk  according  to  His  dictates,  Love,  proved 
ahke  in  word  and  deed,  must  be  the  Guardian  Angel  of  our 
homes ! 


CHAPTER    VL 


HANNAH, 


In  the  history  of  the  Jews  by  Josephus,  the  story  of  Hannah 
is  mentiont^d  as  taking  place  before  that  of  Ruth.  We  prefer 
following  the  arrangement  of  the  Bible,  although  it  is  not 
improbable  that  Ruth  and  Hannah  lived  much  at  the  same 
time  ;  for  we  tind  the  son  of  Hannah,  when  a  very  old  man, 
visiting  the  grandson  of  Ruth,  then  in  his  prime,  to  choose  from 
his  household  his  youngest  born  as  the  anointed  of  the  Lord. 
The  period  of  the  existence  of  these  two  beautiful  female  cha- 
racteis  is  in  itself  of  little  importance;  but  it  is  interesting  to 
trace  the  intimate  connexion  of  their  descendants,  thrown 
together  as  they  were  so  closely  in  after  life. 

There  was  a  certain  man,  living  in  the  city  of  Rama  Sophim 
of  Mount  Ephraim,  an  Ephrathite  by  descent,  named  Elkanah, 
who  had  two  wives,  Hannah  and  Peninnah.  It  is  a  remarkable 
fact,  that  this  is  the  very  first  mention  of  a  man  having  two 
wives  since  the  days  of  Jacob.  Joseph,  Moses,  Aaron  and  liis 
sons,  Caleb,  Othniei,  Lapidoth,  Manoah,  Elimelech,  ChiHon,  and 
Mahlon,  all  had  but  one  wife;  a  striking  confirmation  of  our 
former  assertion,  that  though  polygamy  was  permitted,  from  its 


PfiRIOD      III. HANNAH.  255 

being  an  immemorial  usage,  it  tvas  not,  in  the  early  days  of 
Israel,  considered  a  necessary  part  of  their  domestic  policy  ;  and 
that  almost  every  great  and  good  man  selected  by  the  Eternal 
to  work  His  ■will,  before  the  monarchy,  had  but  the  one  wife 
for  whom  the  laws  were  given ;  and  so  evinced,  in  their  own 
persons,  the  incipient  davvnings  of  that  more  refined  and 
elevated  state  of  being  and  society,  which  in  the  natural  progres- 
sion of  humanity  would  undoubtedly  ensue. 

The  abuse  of  the  permission  to  have  more  than  one  wife 
without  transgressing  the  Law,  which  grew  to  such  an  awful 
height  during  the  continuance  of  the  monarchy,  is  no  evidence  of 
the  degrading  nature  of  the  Law,  but  is  the  literal  fulfilment  of 
the  threatened  wrath  of  the  Eternal,  when  the  people  insisted 
upon  having  an  earthly  king  to  rule  over  them,  like  other 
nations.  That  he  would  not  only  take  unto  himself  their 
store  and  their  fields,  and  their  olive-yards  and  vineyards,  but 
even  their  sons  and  their  daughters  to  minister  to  his  service 
and  his  pleasures ;  and,  of  course,  the  licentious  conduct  of  the 
sovereign  would  be  followed  by  equal  license  in  his  subjects. 

But  before  the  monarchy,  though  the  people  were  ever  in 
rebellion  and  disobedience,  still  no  such  domestic  abuses  had 
existence.  Even  when  there  were  two  wives,  as  in  the  case  we 
are  about  to  consider,  we  find  the  beautiful  laws,  instituted  fur 
domestic  equity  and  peace,  entering  and  guiding  a  man's  house- 
hold, as  the  Eternal  had  intended  in  their  bestowal.  Yet  even 
these,  while  they  prevented  all  justice  on  the  part  of  the 
husband,  could  not  entirely  do  away  with  the  evils  of  a  divided 
household,  which  Sacred  Writ  never  fails  to  record  for  our 
warning. 

"  And  Elkanah,  with  his  wives  and  household,  went  up  out 
of  his  dty  yearly  to  worship  and  sacrifice  unto  the  Lord  in 
Shiloh,"  then  the  residence  of  God's  holy  ark,  and  of  his  priests, 
— a  practical  confirmation  of  the  law  so  to  do,  which  we  have 
already  noticed.  At  these  times,  "  he  gave  to  Peninnah  his  wife, 
and  to  all  her  sons  and  daughters,  portions,  but  unto  Hannah 
he  gave  a  double  portion  ;  for  he  loved  Hannah  :  though  the 
Lord  had  not  granted  her  any  children," — loved  her  for  herself, 
even  above  Peninnah,  though  she  had  given  him  a  goodly 
progeny,  and  Hannah  had  but  her  own  gentle  virtues,  which 
were  sufficient  for  her  husband. 

But  in  Israel  the  denial  of  children  was  considered  too  sad  a 
12* 


256  THE       WOMEN       OP      ISRAEL. 

reproach,  too  painfully  a  proof  of  individual  unworthiness  in  the 
sight  of  God,  for  the  meek  spirit  of  Hannah  to  endure  it  with- 
out bitter  grief;  a  grief  painfully  aggravated  by  the  provoca- 
tions of  her  more  favored  rival,  whose  unkind  reproaches 
increased  with  every  year  that  diminished  Hannah's  hope. 
Still,  Holy  Writ  tells  us  of  no  complaint  on  the  part  of  Hannah 
against  Peninnah.  As  the  more  beloved  by  her  husband,  had 
she  told  him  of  the  continual  provocations  she  received,  she 
might  have  been  sure  of  such  interference  as  would  have 
effectually  shielded  her  from  them  in  future,  though  at  the 
expense  of  alienating  Peninnah  from  her  husband,  and  causing 
domestic  strife.  But  such  a  course  of  acting  was  not  according 
to  Hannah's  character.  It  was  easier  far  to  suffer  than  to  com- 
plain ;  sweeter  far  to  endure  herself  than  seek  revenge  upon 
another. 

Each  visit  to  Shiloh  excited  anew  the  reproaches  of  Penin- 
nah.; and  as  this  took  place  some  years  before  Elkanah  noticed 
the  deep  grief  of  his  favorite  wife,  we  may  in  a  degree  suf)pose 
the  extent  of  Hannah's  gentle  forbearance.  Hers  was  no  trial 
of  a  day,  or  even  a  month,  but  of  years ;  and  can  we  imagine 
anything  more  trying  to  the  heart  and  temper,  than  to  live 
with  one  whose  tongue  was  ever  bitter  with  reproach  ?  because 
it  is  not  likely  that  it  was  only  during  their  visits  to  Shiloh  that 
"Peninnah  provoked  her  sore,  to  make  her  fret,"  and  provoked 
her  for  no  fault ;  for  nothing  which  Hannah  herself  could 
remedy,  but  simply  for  being  less  favored  by  the  Lord.  And 
yet,  how  many  are  there  like  her  !  How  many  love  to  reproach 
instead  of  soothe,  as  if  sorrow  and  disappointment  were  the 
fault  of  the  sufferers,  not  the  loving  sentence  of  the  Lord ! 
How  many  there  are  who  thus  make  a  daily  life  bitter  to  their 
fellows,  instead  of,  as  they  might  do,  rendering  grief  less  sad, 
and  inexpressibly  heightening  joy. 

Their  visits  to  Shiloh  must  have  been  fraught  with  deep 
suffering  to  Hannah.  It  was  not  only  the  signal  of  Peninnah's 
aggravated  unkindness ;  but  the  very  sight  of  all  her  fellow- 
countrymen  flocking  to  the  temple  of  the  Lord,*  with  their 
goodly  show  of  sons  and  daughters,  must  have  made  her  pious 

*  Though  that  house  of  God  which  we  are  accustomed  to  regard  aa 
the  Temple  was  not  built  till  the  reign  of  Solomou,  the  residence  of  the 
Ark  of  God  was  always  called  the  Temple.     See  1  Sam.  i.  9. 


PERIOD       III. HANNAH.  25l 

heart  shrink  deeper  and  deeper  within  itself  in  its  own  unspoken 
woe  :  and  it  is  shown  in  her  spirit's  sad  but  unmurmuring 
inquiry,  "  Why  had  the  Lord  whom  she  loved  and  sought  to 
serve,  so  reproached  and  forsaken  her  ?"  That  this  was  really 
the  case,  and  her  grief  was  never  spoken,  never  found  vent  in 
reproachful  words,  we  know  by  Elkanah's  gently  reproving 
address.  "Hannah,  why  weepest  thou  ?"  he  said,  "  why  eatest 
thou  not  ?  and  why  is  thy  heart  grieved  ?  Am  not  I  better  to 
thee  than  ten  sons  ?"  Here  there  is  no  reference  to  anything 
but  Hannah's  visible  sorrow,  and  to  Elkanah's  natural  supposi- 
tion as  to  the  cause  of  her  grief;  and  in  perfect  accordance 
with  the  meek  enduring  beauty  of  her  true  womanly  character, 
she  makes  no  complaining  answer.  It  would  have  been  easy 
for  her  to  exculpate  herself  for  too  repining  sorrow  by  invectives 
against  her  happier  rival ;  but  she  who  had  borne  so  much  and 
so  long,  was  far  too  spiritual  for  such  petty  revenge.  Answer 
to  man,  save  such  as  affection  would  dictate,  the  struggle  to 
smile  and  be  happy  for  a  loved  one's  sake,  she  made  none;  but 
sought  relief,  where  alone  it  might  be  found,  at  the  footstool  of 
her  God — woman's  best  and  surest  refuge.  For  how  may  man, 
even  when  most  loving,  most  beloved,  so  know  the  secret  nature 
of  a  woman's  heart,  fis  to  bring  the  balm  it  seeks,  and  give  the 
strength  it  needs  ?  Elkanali's  words  reveal  the  extent  and 
truth  of  his  love ;  and  had  it  not  been  for  the  daily  provoca- 
tions of  Peninnali,  he  might  indeed  have  been  to  Hannah 
"  'C/etter  than  ten  sons :"  but  she  had  griefs  and  trials  of  which 
he  knew  nothing, — peculiarly  her  own,  as  what  woman  has 
not  ? — hnd  these,  in  childlike  faith  and  voiceless  prayer,  she 
brought  unto  her  God. 

The  condition  of  married  women  amongst  the  Jews,  in  the 
time  of  the  Judges,  must  have  been  perfectly  free  and  unre- 
strained. We  find  her  rising  up  after  they  had  eaten  and 
drunk  in  Shiloh,  and  without  even  imparting  her  intentions  to 
her  husband,  much  less  asking  his  consent,  going  perfectly 
unattended  and  unrebuked  to  the  temple  of  the  Lord.  There, 
in  bitterness  of  soul  weeping,  she  prayed  unto  the  Lord  of 
Hosts  ;  and,  in  perfect  accordance  with  the  Mosaic  Law,  which 
expressly  provided  for  such  emergencies,  she  vowed  a  vow,  that 
if  the  Eternal  would  in  His  infinite  mercy  remember  His  hand- 
maid, and  grant  her  a  male  child,  she  would  devote  him  unto 


258  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

the  Lord  all  the  days  of  his  life,  and  not  a  razor  should  come 
near  his  head. 

But  she  prayed  not  aloud,  nor  in  any  stated  formula  of 
prayer  ;  she  prayed  merely  as  the  heart  dictated  :  "  she  spoke 
in  her  heart,"  as  we  have  it  in  the  touching  language  of  Scrip- 
ture,— only  her  lips  moved,  but  her  voice  was  not  heard ;  and 
Eli,  the  high  priest,  who  sat  beside  one  of  the  posts  of  the 
temple,  marked  her  mouth,  and  hearing  no  word,  combined 
with  the  agitated  figure  before  him,  believed  she  was  drunken, 
and,  reproaching  her,  bade  her  put  her  wine  from  her. 

It  must  have  been  an  aggravation  of  her  sorrow  to  find  her- 
self so  misunderstood  by  one,  who,  as  high  priest,  she  might 
with  some  justice  believe  would  have  required  no  explanation 
on  her  part,  but,  in  the  name  of  the  Eternal,  have  proffered  her 
relief  at  once.  Still  we  find  notliing  in  her  touchingly  beautiful 
reply  to  evince  a  failing  in  the  firm  faith  which  brought  her 
there.  "  No,  my  lord,"  she  answered,  "  I  am  a  woman  of  a 
sorrowful  spirit ;  I  have  drunk  neither  wine  nor  strong  drink, 
but  have  poured  out  my  soul  before  the  Lord.  Count  not 
thine  handmaid  for  a  daughter  of  Behal ;  for  out  of  the  abun- 
dance of  my  grief  and  complaint  have  I  spoken  hitherto.  Then 
Eli  answered  and  said.  Go  in  peace,  and  the  God  of  Israel  grant 
thee  thy  petition  that  thou  hast  asked  of  Him  :"  and,  without 
doubt,  without  question,  Hannah  simply  answered,  "  Let  thine 
handmaid  find  grace  in  thy  sight," — meaning,  to  remember  her 
in  his  prayers, — and  then  "  she  went  her  way,  and  did  eat,  and 
her  countenance  was  no  more  sad." 

The  exquisite  lesson  and  consolation  which  these  verses  con- 
tain (1  Sam.  i.  9-19)  we  will  defer  to  our  concluding  observa- 
tions, now  merely  narrating  the  history  itself.  At  the  conclusion 
of  the  festival,  Elkanah  and  his  family  returned  to  Ramah, 
where  the  Eternal  in  His  mercy  remembered  His  faithful 
servant,  and  taking  from  her  her  reproach,  in  due  course  of 
time  granted  her  the  son  for  which  she  had  so  earnestly  prayed ; 
and  in  joyful  acknowledgment  that  it  was  in  answer  to  her 
prayer  he  had  been  given,  she  called  him  Samuel,  or  "  asked 
of  the  Lord." 

The  time  again  came  round  for  Elkanah  and  his  family  to 
make  their  yearly  offerings  in  Shiloh  ;  and  by  the  allusion  to 
a  vow  of  Elkanah's  (see  verse  21)  we  may  infer  that  Hannah 


PERIOD      III. HANNAH.  259 

had  of  course  imparted  to  him  her  vow,  and  received  noi  only 
his  unqualified  sanction,  but  that  he  was  anxious,  in  liis  next 
visit  to  the  temple  of  the  Eternal,  himself  to  confirm  it.  We 
find,  too,  as  we  ought  previously  to  have  noticed,  the  day  after 
Hannah  had  been  to  the  temple,  that  they  (probably  herself 
and  her  husband)  rose  up  in  the  morning  early,  and  "  worshipped 
before  the  Lord  ;"  a  worship,  possibly,  of  thanksgiving  and 
rejoicing  on  the  part  of  both ;  on  Elkanah's  that  his  beloved 
wife  was  no  longer  sad,  on  Hannali's  that  her  prayer  was  heard  ; 
for  that  it  was  heard,  it  is  evident  she  never  entertained  a 
doubt,  long  before  she  could  have  had  proof  that  it  really  was 
so.  That  this  early  worship  had  to  do  with  the  vow  is,  how- 
ever, of  course  a  mere  suggestion  :  the  Word  of  God  is  open 
to  all  ;  we  would  not  compel  the  adoption  of  any  suggestion, 
to  which  both  reason  and  feeling  cannot  give  reply. 

Hannah,  however,  when  the  time  of  the  yearly  sacrifice 
arrived,  refused  to  go  up,  saying  to  her  husband,  "  I  will  not 
go  up,  till  the  cliild  is  weaned  ;  and  then  I  will  bring  him,  that 
he  may  appear  before  the  Lord,  and  there  abide  for  ever :"  a 
resolution  freely  approved  of  by  Elkanah.  "  Do  what  seeraeth 
thee  good,"  he  replied,  "  tarry  until  thou  hast  weaned  him." 
This  incident  is  a  striking  confirmation  of  all  which  we  brought 
forward  in  the  Second  Period  of  our  history,  regarding  the 
appearance  and  the  non-appearance  of  the  female  part  of  a 
Jewish  household  in  the  Temple  at  the  times  appointed. 

The  history  of  Elkanah  and  his  family  illustrates  this  law 
exactly.  That  women  as  well  as  men  were  to  appear  in  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  join  in  his  worship,  is  proved  by  both  Hannah 
and  Peninnah,  with  the  latter's  children,  attending  their  husband 
to  Shiloh  ;  and  that  the  law  to  go  up  thrice  a  year  was  only 
binding  upon  males  from  the  many  causes  which  might  prevent 
females,  particularly  mothers,  from  so  doing,  we  perceive  by 
Hannah's  tarrying  till  her  child  was  weaned,  and  having  her 
husband's  free  permission  so  to  do. 

The  time  at  length  came,  when  in  obedience  to  her  volun- 
tary vow,  Hannah  must  part  from  her  boy,  and  deliver  him  up 
to  the  service  of  the  God  whose  mercy  had  bestowed  him  to  her 
prayer.  Her  only  one,  precious  beyond  all  price  1  yet  we  find 
no  hesitation,  no  thought  of  delay,  no  idea  of  forgetting  that 
which  she  had  vowed,  though  the  nature  of  her  vow,  nay,  that 
she  had  vowed  at  all,  was  unknown  to  all,  even  to  the  high 


260  THE       WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

priest,  who  had  promised  that  her  prayer  should  be  granted 
without  knowing  what  it  was.  Without  listening  to  the  mater- 
nal anxieties  that  must  have  engrossed  her,  we  find  her,  directly 
the  child  w;is  weaned,  taking  him  with  her  to  Shiloh,  and  three 
bullocks,  and  one  ephah  of  flour,  and  a  bottle  of  wine, — offer- 
ings from  the  store,  and  the  field,  and  the  vineyard, — all  in 
exact  accordance  with  the  written  Law,  and  they  came  unto  the 
house  of  the  Lord,  and  they  slew  a  bullock  there,  and  brought 
the  child  to  Eli.  "  And  she  said,  O  my  lord,  as  thy  soul  liv- 
eth,  my  lord,  I  am  the  woman  that  stood  by  thee  here  praying 
unto  the  Lord.  For  this  child  I  prayed,  and  the  Lord  hath 
given  me  my  petition  which  I  asked  of  Him,  and  therefore  also 
have  I  lent  him  to  the  Lord  :  as  long  as  he  liveth  be  shall  be 
lent  to  the  Lord.  And  he  worshipped  the  Lord  there," — rather 
an  obscure  phrase,  but  probably  signifying  that  Eli  worshipped 
the  Lord,  in  acknowledgment  of  His  divine  goodness,  in  thus 
permitting  his  words  to  come  to  pass,  and  giving  the  woman 
that  which  she  desired. 

The  prayer,  or  rather  hymn,  of  thanksgiving  in  which  Han- 
nah poured  forth  her  gratitude  to  her  God  in  a  strain  of  the 
sublimest  poetry  and  vivid  conception  of  the  power  and  good- 
ness of  Him  whom  she  addressed,  is  a  forcible  illustration  of  the 
intellectual  as  well  as  the  spiritual  piety  which  characterized  the 
women  of  Israel,  and  which  in  its  very  existence  denies  the  pos- 
sibility of  degradation  applying  to  women,  either  individually, 
socially,  or  domestically.  Their  intellect  must  have  been  of  a 
very  superior  grade  ;  while  the  facility  of  throwing  the  aspira- 
tions of  the  spirit  into  the  sublimest  poetry,  evinces  constant 
practice  in  so  doing,  and  proves  how  completely  prayer  and 
thanksgiving  impregnated  their  vital  breath.  It  is  useless  quot- 
ing this  beautiful  song  of  praise,  Avhen  the  blessed  word  which 
contains  it  is  open  to  all  classes  and  ages  of  readers;  but  we 
would  beseech  our  young  friends  not  to  be  satisfied  with  this 
uninspired  notice,  but  to  turn  to  the  word  themselves,  and  mark 
the  soul-felt  clinging  piety  throughout.  It  is  as  exact  a  tran- 
script of  the  swelling  gratitude  of  a  truly  pious  heart,  as  her 
prayer  before  had  breathed  its  bitterness  of  grief.  Some  there 
are  who  gladly  come  to  their  God  in  sorrow,  but  quite  forget 
that  the  seasons  of  joy  should  be  devoted  to  Him  as  well.  Han- 
nah was  evidently  not  of  these  ;  but  one  of  the  most  perfectly 
spiritually  pious  characters  of  the  Bible.     There  was  no  self- 


PERIOD      III. HANNAH.  261 

exaltation  in  her  song  of  praise  ;  no  supposition  that  for  any 
individual  worth  her  reproach  had  been  removed;  or  even  tliat 
any  peculiarly  meritorious  fervor  in  her  prayer  had  wrouu;ht 
reply.  No;  all  was  of  the  Lord.  All  came  from  His  exceeding 
mercy — His  omnipotent  power.  It  was  he  who  had  made  bare 
His  holy  arm,  and  to  the  barren  given  children.  He  who  gave 
strength  to  those  that  stumbled,  while  the  arms  of  mighty  men 
were  broken — He  who  maketh  poor,  and  maketh  rich — He  who 
bringeth  low,  and  lifteth  up — He  who  killeth,  and  maketh  alive 
— for  "  by  strength  no  man  shall  prevail." 

Nor  was  it  only  because  she  was  permitted  thus  to  rejoice, 
and  behold  the  power  she  exalted,  that  Hannah  so  magnified 
the  Lord,  and  believed  in  His  wisdom  and  love  to  do  all  that 
He  willed.  She  must  have  known  and  felt  all  her  hymn 
expressed  in  her  time  of  grief,  else  we  should  not  have  seen  her 
in  lowly  supplication,  prostrate  in  the  court  of  the  Lord's  house 
— beseeching  His  relief.  She  must  have  believed,  else  she  could 
not  thus  have  prayed. 

Lonely  and  sad  must  have  been  the  feeh'ngs  of  this  true 
Hebrew  mother  when  she  returned  to  her  house  at  Ramah, 
leaving  her  beautiful  boy  with  the  high  priest,  and  knowing 
that  but  three  times  in  the  year  might  she  behold  him  ;  and 
then  not  to  receive  from  him  the  service  and  caresses  of  a  son, 
but  only  to  look  on  him  as  one  devoted  to  his  God  and  to  His 
service  !  How  must  her  heart  have  yearned  for  the  engaging 
prattle,  the  caressing  playfulness,  the  lovely  looks  of  clinging 
love,  which  had  so  blessed  her  since  his  birth  !  What  a  blank 
in  her  existence  must  have  been  his  absence  !  and  what  but 
spiritual  trust  and  devoted  love  to  her  God,  could  have  brought 
her  consolaticu  ?  The  feelings  alike  of  her  human  and  spiritual 
nature  are  so  exquisitely  portrayed  by  that  beautiful  delineator 
of  wo  nan's  spiritual  character,  Mrs.  Hemans,  that  we  can  but 
refer  our  readers  to  her  pages,  convmced  that  it  will  aid  them  to 
enter  into  the  full  beauty  of  Hannah's  character,  and  the  extent 
of  her  trial  in  parting  from  her  boy.* 

Licentiousness  and  sin  had  crept  into  the  very  bosom  of  the 
Temple,  through  the  conduct  of  the  high  priest's  sons.  Yet,  in 
the  midst  of  impurity,  under  the  too  indulgent  control  of  an 
aged  man,  whose  laxity  of  parental  discipline  exposed  him  to 

*  See  Mrs.  Hemans's  Poems,  vol.  iv.  p   169. 


262  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

the  anger  of  the  Lord,  still  was  the  child  Samuel  kept  pure  and 
undefiled  even  as  he  left  his  mother's  roof,  and,  while  yet  a 
child,  ministered  before  the  Lord.  Ilis  so  doing  explains  and 
confirms  the  law  of  the  Nazarite,  and  singular  vow,  to  which  we 
alluded  in  our  Second  Period,  as  implying  devotion  to  the 
Lord's  service,  which  even  children  might  perform  (see  Lev. 
xxvii.  6)  by  some  personal  service.  It  is  thus  we  so  repeatedly 
find  the  Hagiography,  or  historical  parts  of  the  Bible,  containing 
the  practical  illustration  of  the  theoretical  statutes,  exactly  as 
Moses  gave  them,  and  so  rendering  the  Holy  Scriptures  in  very 
truth  the  verified  transcript  of  the  Eternal  will.  Moses'  instruc- 
tions to  the  elders  regarding  the  practical  obedience  to  the  law, 
must  have  been  in  exact  accordance  with  that  which,  being 
written,  was,  and  is  still,  open  to  our  perusal ;  or  we  should  have 
found  some  traces  of  its  difference  in  the  manners  and  customs 
of  our  ancestors.  All,  therefore,  in  Modern  Judaism,  which  is 
accused  of  contradicting  the  spirit  of  the  eternal  holy  word, 
cannot  have  had  its  origin  in  either  of  the  laws,  oral  or  written, 
transmitted  by  Moses.  We  are  anxious  always  to  notice,  as 
forcibly  as  may  be,  those  portions  of  the  Bible  containing  the 
practical  confirmation  of  the  written  laws  of  Moses,  because  we 
have  heard  (though  we  can  scarcely  believe  it)  that  the  written 
word  of  the  Eternal  is  pronounced  by  some  as  imperfect  and 
incomplete.  The  promulgators  of  such  a  fearful  doctrine  are 
not  perhaps  aware  that  by  so  doing,  and  so  depriving  our 
females  and  youth  of  both  sexes  of  their  only  stay,  and  strength, 
and  consolation,  they  are  opening  a  wider  avenue  and  offering  a 
greater  temptation  to  embrace  Christianity,  than  was  ever 
proffered  by  our  opponents.  To  guard  the  women  of  Israel  from 
such  insidious  danger,  we  are  tempted  to  wander  from  our  main 
subject,  whehever  the  opportunity  offers,  to  give  them  refuge 
and  strength  by  the  conviction  that  for  them,  at  least,  the  Word 
of  the  Most  High  is  all-sufficient,  containing,  as  it  does,  in  the 
historical  books,  the  practical  illustration^  and  in  the  prophets 
the  spiritual  explanation,  of  the  whole  Mosaic  system,  whether 
imparted  by  word  of  mouth  or  dash  of  pen.  Of  the  delivery  or 
non-delivery  by  the  Eternal  of  an  oral  law,  we  write  not  at  all, 
as  it  is  a  subject  much  too  learned  and  too  weighty  for  a 
Avoman;  and  we  are  ready  and  willing  to  submit  our  opinions 
on  all  points  to  the  wisdom  and  piety  of  our  venerable  sages. 
We  only  affirm,  what  we  think  no  Hebrew  will  contradict,  that 


P  K  K  I  U  D       III. n  A  N  N  A  H  .  263 

as  the  God  of  Israel  is  a  God  of  changeless  truth  and  wisdom, 
He  would  not  have  desired  Moses  to  ivrite  that  which  speech 
was  to  deny  ;  in  (jther  words,  that  each  law  must  be  so  pei'fect 
and  so  exact  a  counterpart  of  the  other,  that  in  our  present 
captive  state,  the  Bible  provided  thrt)Ugh  the  eternal  mercy  for 
this  very  emergency,  must  be  the  key  to  both  laws,  and  so  per- 
fect in  itself. 

Though  the  evil  conduct  of  the  sons  of  Eli  was  well  known, 
Hannah  does  not  appear  to  have  entertained  a  fear  as  to  the 
effect  of  their  example  upon  the  tender  years  of  her  child.  It 
was  not  likely  that  she  who,  in  all  her  individual  joys  and  sor- 
rows, came  to  her  God  in  prayer,  should  neglect  that  holy  duty 
for  the  welfare  of  her  boy.  She  had  experienced  too  consolingly 
the  effect  of  faith  and  prayer,  to  doubt  them  now ;  and  as  a 
mother,  a  Hebrew  mother — one  whose  whole  heart  was  love 
and  praise  to  God,  we  may  quite  believe  that,  day  and  night, 
her  meek  and  humble  orisons  arose  for  her  boy,  that  he  might 
become  all  that  would  make  him  indeed  a  faithful  servant  of  his 
God ;  for  in  being  such,  he  would  be  all  her  heart  could  wish. 
Some  mothers,  indeed,  there  may  be,  who,  when  they  send  their 
children  from  them,  and  provide  them  with  all  things  needful 
for  temporal  welfare,  think  they  have  done  s".fficient,  and  only 
remember  them  with  mere  human,  and  consequently  perish- 
able, affections ;  rejoicing  in  their  prosperity,  anxious  when  ill, 
desiror.sfor  them  to  "get  on," — an  emphatic  though  not  elegant 
phrase  for  the  world's  success.  And  if  they  do  all  they  can  to 
forward  this  "getting-on,"  in  the  way  of  education  and  lavish 
expenditure,  what  more  could  be  required  of  them  ?  Some  will 
answer,  "  Nothing."  Others  may  feel,  as  Hannah  must  have 
felt,  that  though  their  children  may  no  longer  be  beneath  their 
roof — though  all  of  human  means  is  done,  to  further  their 
advancement,  what  will  it  all  avail  without  the  blessing  of  the 
Lord  ?  And  how  may  such  blessing  be  attained,  save  with 
faithful  and  unceasing  prayer  ?  Prayer,  that  unites  us  in  spirit 
alike  with  our  beloved  ones,  and  our  God.  Oh,  is  there  one 
who  really  loves,  be  it  as  a  parent,  wife,  child,  betrothed,  or 
friend,  and  can  yet  rest  secure  and  happy  without  prayer  ?  If 
we  have  never  prayed  before,  we  must  when  we  feel  love.  Can 
we  love  in  any  single  relation  of  life,  and  yet  not  feel  the 
craving,  the  desire,  the  absolute  necessity  to  pour  out  our  hearts 
to  our  God  for  our  beloved  ones,  and  in  them  for  ourselves  ? 


264  THE       WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL 

Can  we  rest  quiet,  incapacitated,  perhaps,  from  active  service  by 
circumstances,  and  not  at  least  seek  to  serve  by  fervent  prayer? 
And  if  in  every  relation  of  life  this  must  be  the  effect  of  love, 
oh  !  more  than  in  any  other  must  we  find  it  in  a  mother  for  a 
cliild  !  What  love  can  be  like  hers,  so  watchful,  so  cliangeless, 
so  unwearied  ?  And  how  may  she  still  the  anxious  throbbings 
of  her  heart,  when  divided  from  its  earthly  treasures,  save  by 
sim]jle  trust  and  fervid  prayer  ? 

And  when  we  look  back  on  the  character  of  Hannah,  as  it  has 
already  been  displayed,  can  vi^e  doubt  that  such  were  her  feelings, 
that  she  could  have  supposed  merely  to  leave  her  child  with  the 
high  priest  was  sufficient — that  nothing  more  depended  on  her- 
self? She  who  in  all  things  had  prayed  ?  No,  prayer  must 
have  sanctified  her  offering,  not  only  when  offered,  but  when 
apart  from  him.  She  had  naught  but  prayer  for  him  on  which 
to  rest.  And  might  it  not  have  been,  nay,  was  it  not,  that 
mother's  prayer,  which  retained  her  boy  in  such  pure  and  lowly 
pietv,  in  such  singleness  of  purpose  and  faithfulness  of  heart,  in 
the  very  midst  of  the  licentiousness  reigning  around  ?  Long 
before  Samuel  could  have  prayed  for  himself,  must  Hannah's 
prayers  have  ascended  for  him,  and  in  his  favor,  both  with  the 
Lord  and  with  men — she  had  her  answer. 

Every  time  of  her  visit  to  Shiloh,  we  find  Hannah  bringing  a 
little  coat,  or  robe,  for  her  child,  the  work  of  her  own  hands, 
which  had  fondly  lingered  on  the  task  from  month  to  month, 
in  the  periods  of  absence  ;  and  Eli  blessed  Elkanah  and  his 
wife,  and  said,  "  the  Lord  give  thee  seed  of  this  woman,  for  the 
loan  which  is  lent  to  the  Lord."  Now,  though  not  till  several 
verses  after  the  narration  of  Hannah's  address  to  the  high  priest, 
when  leaving  Samuel  with  him,  these  words  were  most  proba- 
bly spoken  when  he  first  accepted  the  offering  of  the  child ;  and 
the  Lord  did  visit  Hannah,  and  granted  her  three  more  sons, 
and  two  daughters,  thus  powerfully  proving,  that  the  Eternal 
ever  returns  double,  and  more  than  double,  that  which  we 
devote  to  Him ;  be  it  the  affections,  the  intellect,  the  will ;  or 
that  more  active  service,  charity  and  good  works.  Hannah 
devoted  to  Him  her  all,  her  only  one,  caring  not  for  the  conquest 
of  self  which  this  resignation  of  her  treasure  must  have 
demanded ;  and  the  Eternal,  in  His  infinite  mercy,  granted  hei 
five  in  the  place  of  one.  And  what  was  it  which  had  originally 
turned  aside  her  reproach,  and  inclined  the  Lord  towards  her  ? 


PERIOD      III, HANNAH.  265 

No  great  work — no  mighty  sacrifice — no  wealthy  offering ;  it 
was  none  of  these,  but  simple  faith  and  heartfelt  prayer. 

With  the  information  that  she  became  the  mother  of  five 
children,  Holy  Writ  concludes  the  history  of  Hannah;  but 
knowing  the  longevity  of  Scri])tural  characters,  we  are  justified 
in  inferring  that  she  was  spared  to  feel  to  the  full,  all  the 
happiness  which  her  first-born's  matured  character  must  have 
excited. 

We  hear  of  not  one  failing  from  his  earliest  childhood.  We 
read  of  his  unvarying  integrity  and  single-minded  obedience 
to  the  word  of  his  God,  from  his  first  repetition  to  Eli  of  the 
Eternal's  awful  sentence,  to  the  conclusion  of  his  career  ;  inter- 
fering as  that  obedience  so  repeatedly  did,  with  his  own  private 
feelings,  alike  towards  Eli,  in  the  selection  of  a  king,  and  in  all 
his  conduct  towards  Saul.  If  Hannah  lived  until  the  monarchy, 
she  must  indeed  have  been  blessed  in  the  innate  goodness  and 
love,  and  in  the  popularity  of  her  child,  and  have  felt  that 
in  nursing  him  for  the  Lord,  she  had  indeed  received  "  her 
wages." 

The  history  we  have  been  regarding,  though  brief  in  itself,  is 
yet  so  fraught  with  importance  to  us  as  women  of  Israel,  and 
as  women  in  general,  that  we  trust  we  shall  be  pardoned  for 
dwelling  upon  it  in  all  its  bearings  at  some  length.  Forcibly 
as  the  stories  of  Naomi  and  Deborah  marked  the  real  position 
of  the  Israelitish  women,  and  proved  their  powers  alike  of  intel- 
lect, judgment,  and  spirituality,  as  well  as  the  deferential  light 
in  which  they  were  regarded  by  their  countrymen,  the  history 
of  Hannah  brings  their  perfect  freedom  and  equality,  even  in 
the  marriage  state,  yet  more  distinctly  forward.  Deborah  was 
inspired  to  do  the  will  of  the  Lord  ;  gifted,  extraordinarily  and 
expressly,  to  judge  and  deliver  her  countrymen.  Naomi  was  a 
widow,  uishackled  by  either  conjugal  or  household  duties,  and 
with  no  relation  whatever  to  interfere  with  her  proceedings. 
Hannah  was  one  of  two  wives,  her  husband  living,  and  the  head 
of  a  wealthy  household ;  consequently,  she  must  have  had  all 
her  part  of  the  domestic  economy  to  look  after  and  perform ; 
yet  there  could  not  have  been  the  very  smallest  restraint  upon 
either  her  temporal  proceedings  or  spiritual  feelings.  She  does 
not  even  ask  her  husband's  acquiescence,  much  less  depend 
upon  his  consent  to  seek  the  bouse  of  God.  Her  very  going  to 
pray  must  have  excited  remark,  and  even  scandal,  if  such  had 


266  THE      WOMEN       OF      ISRAEL. 

not  been  the  common  custom  of  the  nation.  And  if  women 
were  not  j)ern)itted  to  pray  for  themselves,  Eli  would  have 
rebuked  her  presumption,  and  desired  her  to  send  her  husband, 
as  the  only  chance  of  her  wishes  being  granted;  instead  of 
which,  wh(  n  once  convinced  she  was  praying  with  earnestness 
and  in  sorrow,  he  bids  her  "  go  in  j^eace,"  for  God  would  hearken 
to  her. 

Again,  had  slie  not  possessed  perfect  freedom  of  will  and 
action,  she  could  not  have  vowed  her  child  to  God.  Unless  she 
had  been  perfectly  sure  that  her  husband  reposed  sufficient 
confidence  in  her,  to  abide  by  her  decision,  she  could  not  have 
so  devoted  him,  without,  as  it  were,  mocking  the  majesty  of 
the  Lord,  by  making  a  promise  which  she  had  not  the  power 
to  perform. 

That  her  vow  was  subject  to  the  approbation  of  her  husband, 
we  believe,  because  such  deference  was  commanded  in  our  law. 
But  Elka.nah's  full  acquiescence  throughout,  clearly  proves  the 
high  esteem  in  which  he  held  her.  She  does  not  ask  even  his 
permission  to  remain  at  home,  till  her  child  were  old  enough  to 
be  left  with  the  priest. 

In  all  relating  to  Samuel,  Elkanah  was  completely  secondary. 
Even  in  the  bullocks,  flowers,  and  wine,  provided  for  the  oftering, 
it  was  Hannah  who  brought  and  offered  them  ;  Hannah,  who 
addressed  Eli ;  Hannah,  who  chanted  the  song  of  thanksgiving 
to  her  God;  and  Hannah,  who  devoted  her  child.  The  husband 
and  father  had  no  more  to  do  with  it,  than  the  simple  acts  of 
acquiescence  and  api^roval,  which  he  would  not  have  so  unhesi- 
tatingly bestowed,  had  he  not  possessed  the  most  perfect  crnfi- 
dence  in  the  judgment  and  actions  of  his  wife. 

That  no  severe  restrictions  as  to  the  time,  form,  or  words  of 
prayer,  existed  in  the  time  of  Hannah,  is  proved  by  her  seeking 
the  Temple  to  pray  when  it  was  not  the  appointed  time  of 
service,  when  there  was  no  one  there  but  the  high  priest  and 
herself;  by  her  speaking  in  her  heart  the  words  which  sorrow 
and  entreaty  dictated,  without  any  regard  whatever  to  instituted 
forms,  which,  though  indispensahle  for  public  service  and 
national  interests,  will  not  give  all  that  is  needed  to  individuals. 
Eli  marked  the  lips  of  Hannah  move,  but  he  heard  no  voice,  for 
she  spake  in  her  heart,  and  as  her  heart  dictated.  And  in  her 
song  of  thanksgiving,  though  she  prayed  aloud,  still  it  was  from 
the  heart  alone. 


PERIOD       III. HANNAH.  267 

That  forms  of  prayer  were  not  needed  in  the  time  of  Hannah, 
as  they  are  now,  we  acknowledge ;  and  also  with  all  our  heart 
and  soul  do  we  reverence  their  institution,  and  acknowledge 
their  full  value,  both  nationally  and  individually.  Many  and 
many  a  one,  from  incapacity  to  frame  words  of  prayer,  would 
be  fearfully  and  painfully  bereft,  did  they  not  possess  the  inva- 
luable treasure  of  words  of  prayer,  framed  by  good  and  learned 
men  expressly  for  their  use,  and  hallowed  by  long  years.  We 
are  no  advocate  for  the  abolishment  of  established  forms ;  for 
fully  and  heartfully  we  feel  their  sanctity  and  value.  We  would 
only  beseech  our  young  sisters  to  accustom  themselves  some- 
times in  their  private  hours,  to  pray  and  to  praise  from  the 
heart,  not  always  to  depend  on  printed  words ;  not,  indeed,  to 
neglect  the  latter,  but  to  hallow  and  add  to  them,  by  individual 
petitions  from  individual  hearts.  Self-knowledge  must  be  their 
first  step  to  such  secret  prayers ;  for  by  self-knowledge  alone 
can  they  discover  their  natural  sins,  their  greatest  temptations, 
their  most  secret  weaknesses,  their  favorite  faults.  Self-knowledge 
alone  can  teach  them  where  they  are  most  likely  to  fail,  and 
where  to  be  unduly  elevated ;  and  dis])lay  broadly  and  unsof- 
tened,  the  true  motives  of  their  every  action.  Self-knowledge 
alone  can  teach  them  their  true  position  with  regard  to  eternity 
and  God,  and  for  all  these  things  it  is,  that  every  individual 
needs  individual  prayer,  wholly  and  utterly  distinct  from 
established  forms  ;  not,  as  we  said  above,  to  take  the  hitter's 
place,  but  so  to  be  added  to  them,  as  to  give  them  life  and 
breath. 

The  history  of'Hannah  is  all-sufficient  for  us  to  be  convinced, 
that  such  individual  and  heartfelt  prayers  are  not  only  legal, 
according  to  the  laws,  but  acceptable  to  the  Lord.  No  restric- 
tions of  man  can  alter  or  interfere  with  that  which  is  divine ; 
and,  therefore,  nothing  which  may  be  told  concerning  the  ineffi- 
cacy  of  individual  prayer,  unless  guided  by  certain  rules,  forms, 
and  words,  can  do  away  with  the  consolation  and  example 
afforded  us  by  the  history  of  our  sweet  and  gentle  ancestress, 
alike  in  the  manner  of  her  prayer  and  its  reply,  and  in  her 
unhesitating,  unquestioning,  and  all-confiding  faith. 

We  are  thus  particular,  because  we  would  at  once  reuove  the 
foul  stigma  flung  by  scoffers  on  our  blessed  faith,  that  her  female 
children  have  no  power  to  pray,  and  are,  consequently,  soulless 
nonentities  before  their  God ;  and  bring  forward,  from  the  word 


268  THE       WOMEN        OF       ISRAEL. 

of  God  itself,  the  unanswerable  assurance,  that  woman's  prayers 
are  heard,  and  are  acceptable  to  Hira,  needing  nothing  more 
than  childlike  faith  in  His  power  to  hear  and  answer,  and  a  lov- 
ing heart  to  dictate  the  imploring  words.  It  is  idle  for  us  to  say- 
that  we  cannot  pray,  for  we  know  not  how  appropriately  to 
address  the  Supreme ;  His  awful  attributes  appal  us,  and  prevent 
all  connected  words.  Such  may  be  the  sentiments  of  those  who 
keep  the  Eternal  far  from  them  ;  but  not  of  Israel,  His  first-born, 
first-beloved,  whose  very  sins  have  no  power  to  separate  him 
from  Ilis  God,  if  he  will  but  repent  and  believe.  "  What  nation 
hath  God  so  near  them  as  Israel,  in  all  we  call  upon  Him  for? 
were  the  precious  words  of  Moses,  confirmed  by  the  whole  after- 
records  of  the  Bible. — Hagiography,  Psalms,  Proverbs,  Prophets, 
all  and  every  one  teem  with  the  same  consoling  truth,  proclaim 
our  God  as  love,  the  hearer  and  answerer  of  prayer,  its  gracious 
receiver,  whenever  it  comes  from  the  heart,  and  is  offered  up  in 
faith.  "  Call  upon  me,  and  I  will  deliver  thee,"  is  the  blessed 
assurance  repeated  again  and  again,  in  different  modes  of  expres- 
sion, in  every  part  of  the  Bible.  It  is  folly,  it  is  guilt  to  keep 
away  from  prayer,  under  the  misle;iding  plea  that  God  is  a 
being  too  pre-eminently  holy  to  be  approached.  Did  we  but 
really  love  Him  as  He  commands,  with  heart,  and  soul,  and 
might;  did  we  but  trust  in  Him,  as  Abraham  did,  when  "his 
faith  was  accounted  righteousness  ;"  we  should  find  words  enough 
wherewith  to  pray  and  praise.  Love  would  biing  us  to  Him, 
believing  and  rejoicing  in  that  inexhaustible  love  which  would  in 
such  infinite  mercy  bend  down  its  reviving  rays  on  us,  and  lift 
UP  the  wearied  sj)irit,  till  it  found  rest  on  the  healing  sympathy 
of  its  all-com])assionating  God. 

It  was  thus  that  Hannah  came  to  Him,  loving  Him,  trusting 
Him,  yet  more  than  she  loved  and  confided  in  her  husband,  the 
nearest  and  dearest  tie  on  earth.  She  did  not  think  herself  too 
unworthy  to  approach  and  beseech  Him,  because  she  knew  that 
the  Law  which  she  obeyed,  and  the  whole  history  of  her  people, 
teemed  with  His  invitations  sotodo,  and  His  promises  to  answ-er. 
She  came  to  Him,  because  she  knew  he  loved  her,  and  would 
have  compassion  ;  and  because  she  so  loved  Him,  that  it  was  far 
easier  to  pour  into  His  gracious  ears  her  silent  sorrows  than 
breathe  them  unto  man.  She  came  to  Hitn,  because  she  not 
only  looed,  but  believed  with  such  a  pure  and  child-like  faith,  that 
when  the  high  priest  bade  her  "  Go  in  peace,  and  God  grant 


PERIOD      III. HANNAH.  269 

thee  thy  petition,"  she  returned  to  her  own  home  so  calmly,  so 
trustingly,  that  she  "  did  eat,  and  her  countenance  was  no  more 
sad :" — words  that  convince  us  how  fully  she  must  have  believed 
when  she  prayed,  and  not  only  then,  but  through  her  htl-time, 
for  faitli  is  of  no  instantaneous  growth.  It  is  a  plant  so  foreign 
to  this  cold,  sceptical,  questioning  world,  that  it  must  be  nursed 
and  tended  into  life  ;  it  must  be  a  habit,  not  a  feeling  ;  it  must 
attend  our  every  prayer,  our  every  spiritual  aspiration,  or  when 
most  needed,  it  will  fail  us,  and  plunge  us  into  gloom. 

But  it  may  be  asked  in  what  need  we  have  such  perfect  and 
constant  faith.  Hannah's  position  will  not  bear  upon  us  now, 
as  we  have  neither  high  priest  nor  Temple,  nor  any  visible  mani- 
festations of  the  Eternal's  interference  in  human  afi'airs.  We 
have  not,  indeed ;  but  we  have  still  His  Word,  the  Bible, 
wherein  so  to  learn  His  attributes,  His  promises,  that  during  our 
captivity  we  need  no  more ;  for  if  we  disbelieve  that  Word,  no 
priest,  no  temple,  no  apparently  visible  reply,  would  give  us  the 
faith  we  need,  and  which  Hannah  proved. 

We  need  faith  to  believe  that  God  is  love,  and  our  souls 
immortal ;  that  every  precious  promise  in  His  word  is  addressed 
as  emphatically  to  us  individually  as  to  us  nationally  ;  to  feel 
that  there  is  another  and  a  brighter  World,  where  "  eye  hath 
not  seen,  neither  hath  ear  heard,  what  He  hath  prepared  for  those 
that  love  Him."  Faith  to  know  that  we  are  individually  objects 
of  His  love  and  care,  as  surely  as  that  every  blade  of  grass  and 
invisible  insect  are  ahke  the  work  of  His  hand,  and  the  constant 
renewal  of  that  power  which  at  a  word  called  forth  creation. 
We  need  faith,  to  discern  the  workings  of  an  eternal  Love  and 
infinite  Goodness  in  the  History  of  Man,  Past  and  Present ;  to 
mark  through  the  evil  which  is  often  alone  visible,  the  fuilher- 
ance  of  that  Divine  Will  and  Perfect  Good,  which  runs  as  a 
silver  thread  through  the  darkest  web,  and  links  this  world  with 
heaven — man  with  God. 

It  is  for  all  these  things  we  need  Faith  :  that  faith  which, 
instead  of  banishing  Reason,  welcomes  and  rejoices  in  her  as  her 
companion  and  handmaid.  Faith  may  exist  without  reason  ;  but 
let  reason  attempt  to  exclude  faith  altogether,  let  the  materialist 
and  scoti'tr  laugh  and  mock  at  all  things  which  cannot  be  sub- 
stantially proved,  and  on  his  bed  of  death  what  shall  support 
him  ?  Let  him  explain,  if  he  can,  birth  and  death,  the  begin- 
ning and  the  end  :  and  then,  and  not  till  then,  may  he  contemn 


2*70  THE       "WOMEN       OF       ISRAEL. 

and  deride  those  who,  contented  to  be  less  wise  and  less  inquir- 
ing', walk  calmly  and  happily  through  this  dark  valley  of  earth 
wilh  the  angel,  Faith,  at  their  side  ;  sending  up  their  lowly  peti- 
tions on  his  aspiring  wings :  and  calmly  sinking,  when  the  tale 
of  life  is  done,  secure,  through  faith's  simple  readings  of  the  word 
of  God,  of  that  everlasting  bliss  which  awaits  him  in  another 
and  purer  world. 

With  the  history  of  Hannah  our  Third  Period  concludes  ;  and 
from  the  length  with  which  we  have  treated  each  separate  notice, 
we  have  little  further  to  add,  save  the  earnest  hope  that  an 
impartial  and  unprejudiced  study  of  all  that  we  have  brought 
forward,  will  convince  our  readers,  that  no  law  for  the  degradation 
and  heathenizing  the  Women  of  Israel  could  have  had  existence 
from  the  Exodus  to  the  Monarchy  ;  that  therefore  all  statutes  to 
that  eflect,  which  may  be  quoted,  must  be  Human  not  Divine, 
and  cannot  be  charged  to  the  Law  of  God,  or  regarded  as 
characteristic  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  His  people. 

To  us,  as  women,  the  whole  of  the  Third  Period  teems  with 
guidance  and  consolation,  and,  as  Women  of  Israel,  must  satisfy 
us  with  the  confirmation  of  our  equality  and  elevation.  Shall 
we,  then,  feel  ashamed  of  the  faith  which  provides  such  laws, 
and  the  lineage  which  counts  such  characters  as  Deborah, 
Naomi,  and  Hannah,  amongst  our  ancestry  ?  Shall  we  prefer 
listening  to  the  mistaken  zeal  which  would  persuade  us  that,  as 
Hebrew  females,  we  are  lowered  and  degraded,  and  can  only 
become  spiritually  free  by  deserting  the  faith  of  our  ancestors, 
to  looking  through  the  Word  of  God,  and,  tracing  our  jirivileges 
there,  make  it  our  glory  to  reveal  them,  through  our  faith  and 
conduct  to  the  whole  Gentile  world  ?  Oh  !  will  not  every  woman 
nerve  heart  to  prove  that  her  religion  comes  from  that  God  of 
Love  and  Truth,  whose  words  once  spoken  will  last  for  ever, 
whose  Law  once  given  will  know  no  change  ;  that  she  has  in 
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of  a  German  scholar. 

"Ileloiee  is  iiai rated  with  great  vigcr  and  spirit,  with  strong  dramatic  interest,  and  with  tit* 
"utrm  ind  no'  Ic-'  senil:r,£i;i3  dilTnseJ  throush'all  it."  scenes." — Mirror 


20  D.  APPLETON   AND   COMPANY'S   LIST 


dpraru  5lgttilar. 
THE  MOTHER'S  RECOMPENSE. 

A  Story.     \2mo.     Paper  cover,  50  cents;  cloth,  75  cents. 

•'  It  is  a  Aaorrant  oflerins  to  the  cause  of  domestic  virtus  and  happiness."— jl/iany  Atlaa 
"  We  have'  read  ihin  with  an  intensity  »("  interest  seldom  awaliened  in  us  by  a  wori  Bl  6) 
on  " — Netcark  Adrerliner. 
'■  We  commend  llie  work  to  all  as  eminently  calculated  to  do  good." — Bangor  WXif. 
"  In  the  domestic  circle,  and  by  all  our  lair  readers,  this  excellent  story  will  mnet  wiri  I 
eJrdial  welcome." — Home  Journal. 


§mt  5lgmlar. 
WOMAN'S  FRIENDSHIP. 

A  Story  of  Do)iicstic  Life.     i2mo.      Cloth,  75  cents  ;  papa  50  cts. 

"This  work  should  find  a  welcome  in  every  family  circle,  where  it  is  so  well  caltul&ted  to 
ilo  good." — Cum.'neriia!  Advertiser. 

"The  book  abounds  with  grace  and  feeling." — Albany  Spectator. 

"  The  style  of  this  production  closely  resembles  that  of  Miss  Edgeworth.  It  is  one  of  tho89 
vivid  pictures  of  every  day  life  that  never  fails  to  please." — N.  O.  True  Delta. 


§tm  !>lgEilar. 
THE    VALE   OF  CEDARS ; 

Or  the  Martyr.      A    Story  of  Spain  in  the  Fifteenth    Centxvry^ 
Vlmo.     Paper  cover,  50  cents  ;  cloth,  75  cents. 

'  The  grace  and  vigor  of  the  style,  the  masterly  manner  n  which  the  details  of  the  story  are 
niaiiaged,  and  its  thriUin^  interest,  render  the  book  one  of  the  most  absorbing  that  we  have  read 
for  fome  timr." — Ntwaiye  Daily  Advertiser. 

"  The  siy.e  is  elegantly  simple,  and  the  moral  lessons  useful  and  striking." — Commereim 
a  icertiser. 

"  Her  stories  are  not  only  artistically  beautiful,  but  more  than  beautiful  for  their  pure  Hon 
oulcations. " — Syracuse  journal. 


<Bim  ^Iguilar. 
THE  WOMEN  OF  ISRAEL. 

Two  volumes  \2mo.     Paper  cover,  $1  ;  cloth,  $1  50. 

'By  no  writer  have  the  characters  of  the  celebrated  Women  of  Israel  been  so  09te*€lly 
jjpreciated,  or  eloquently  delineated.  Those  high  attainments  of  piety,  those  grace*  M  niniit, 
which  have  placed  them  m  the  rank  of  examples  for  all  subsequent  generation)!,  ai»  n>.-«!a4 
before  us  with  a  geniality  of  spirit  and  a  oeauty  oi  style  which  will  secure  the  w«<B]Wt  ad 
miration ;  at  the  same  time  their  weaknesses  and  errors  are  not  overlooked  or  ezcuatd  " 
Vour::r  4"  Inguirer. 


22  r.    APPLETON    AND   COMPANY'S   LIST 

THE  EARnS  DA  UGHTER. 

A  TdJe^  By  the  Author  of  "  Amy  HerherV,^  "  Gertrude,^'  8fC.  SfC 
Edited  by  the  Rev.  W.  Sewell.  12;?zo.  Pajwr  cover,  50 
coUs  ;  cloth^  75  cents. 

"The  scenes  of  this  work  are  portrayed  with  a  ilelicary  and  a  latural  pathos  that  give  t« 
Iwm  an  irresislible  attraction." — Courier  a7id  Enquirer. 

"  It  is  a  mmancc  ihut  (he  most  fastidious  objector  to  novel  reading  might  peruse  with  advan- 
tage as  well  as  with  pleasure." — Worcester  Pallndiiim. 

"  A  book  of  high  order  and  rare  interest,  and  worthy  to  rank  among  the  foremoet  woiks  in 
that  class  of  firtinn  which  invigorate  but  do  not  intoxicate." — Commercial  Advertiser. 


£m\M  D.  €,  limW  Inutjitnnrtlj. 
TBE   DESERTED     WIFE. 

A  Tale.    By  the  Author  of  "  Retribution.,  or  the  Yale  of  Shadows?^ 
Octavo.     Double  columns.     Paper  cover,  38  cents. 

"  In  this  work  we  find  a  most  thrilling  succession  of  incidents,  with  great  ingenuity  in  the 
plot ;  and  the  channin?  monl  of  this  most  fascin-Uing  novel  renders  it  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
that  we  have  ever  had  iho  zmiA  fortune  tn  meet  with." — Daily  Evening  Union. 

"  Fi  r  tenderness  of  sentiment  often  combined  with  heroism  the  characters  in  this  book  are 
peCHlinr  It  is  written  in  a  lively  and  natural  style,  and  will  prove  one  of  the  most  attractive 
workr:  recently  issued  from  the  press." — Juurtial  of  Co-imnerce. 


THE  CONSPIRATOR, 

An  American  Historical  Tale,      \2ino.     Paper  cover,  50  cents; 
cloth,  75  cents. 

"  A  powerlul  and  thrilling  narrative,  written  with  great  elegance  of  style,  and  founded  upoc 

svents  and  incidents  connected  with  the  history  of  one  of  the  early  Vice-Presidents.   The  scenes 

810  lai  '  chiefly  on  the  Ohio,  anil  in  the  South  Western  part  of  the  couiitry. "—Co7ra.  Advertiser. 

■  This  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  tale.     It  is  written  in  a  rich  and  poweiful  style." — Joitr- 

a    'J'  CotHinercc  

'  €  %.  3\Mmx. 

MORTON  MONTAGUE;    OR,    A    YOUNG 
CHRISTIANS  CHOICE. 

A  Narrative  foiauled  oji  Facts  in  the  Early  History  of  a.  Deceased 
Moravian  Missionary  Clergyman.     l2mo.     Cloth,  75  cents. 

..  "There  is  a  charm  in  this  book  unusually  pleasins.  This  narrative  is  alive  with  an  earnesi 
iBieswnary  spirit  glowing  from  every  page.  The  whole,  but  especially  the  introductory  part, 
eontftms  valuable  historical  information.  No  one  can  read  the  book  without  receiving  gratific» 
ti»n  and  instruction  " — Southern  Lit.  Mtsacn^tr 


OF  THEIR  RECENT   PUBLICATIONS.  23 


NORMAN  LESLIE. 

A  Tale.  By  C.  G.  H,  Author  of  '!  T]i£  Curate  of  Lintvood," 
"  Amy  Harrington"  ^-c.  ^-c.  Paper  cover,  50  cents ;  cloth, 
75  cents. 

"  A  deeply  interesting  historical  Tale.  The  scene  is  laid  in  Sc.  tlanil  and  France  duiing  tla 
fouih  111  Mary,  and  the  early  snuggles  between  the  Catholics  and  the  lleroriiers.  It  is  w«U 
written." — Jouryutl  uf  Commerce. 

■'  It  is  written  with  much  lorce  and  vigor  of  style,  and  with  an  elevation  of  thought  and  sfccli 
Bienl  very  appripriatc  to  the  subject." — Courier  and  Enquirer. 


(Dlinia. 

ELLEN  F Aim  Y,    Oil,  TRIALS  OE  THE 
HEART. 

\2riio.     rajjer  cover,  38  cents;  cloth,  G3  cents. 

"The  heroine  is  an  exemplification  of  the  disnity  and  beiuty  of  religious  character  II  ta 
an  interesting  .«iory  and  suggestive  of  valuable  thought  " — Commercial  Advertiser. 

"It  is  worthy  of  perusal  by  all,  and  especially  those  who  desire  to  elevate  the  mii  i  aud 
purily  the  heart." — Evening  Post. 

THE    VILLAGE  NOTARY. 

A  Roniancp.  of  Hungarian  Life.  Translated  from  the  Hungarian 
of  Baron  Eotvos,  by  Otii  AVencksnern  ;  ivith  Introductory 
Remarks,  hy  Frances  Pulskey.      Octo.vo.    Paper  cover,  25  c.ts. 

"The  style  of  the  book  is  very  pleasing.  There  is  now  and  then  a  dash  cf  rich  thought 
»nd  quiet  humor,  and  scattered  all  through  it  are  passages  of  fine  description,  and  houghts  il 
incoi*  Tion  hftauly." — Holdtn's  Magazine. 

"■V  pos,se3ses  inore  of  the  interest  of  truth  than  of  fiction." — National  Era. 


HEARTS  AND   HOMES ;    OR,   SOCIAL 
DISTINCTION. 

A  Story.      Octavo.      Cloth,  $1  50.     Paper  covers,  two  Parts,  %. 

"Of  the  living  female  authors  of  England,  there  is  no  one  more  widely  or  moic  favorably 
known  in  this  country  tnan  Mrs.  Ellis.  Iler  works  are  always  characterized  by  a  de[ith  of  fee' 
ing,  an  earnestness  of  spirit,  a  zeal  for  the  right,  a  truth,  freshness,  and  vivacity,  that  render 
them  not  only  interesting  but  instructive.  Her  stories  contain,  as  the  very  end  and  essence  ol 
their  being,  a  high  and  lofty  sentiment  of  morality,  equal  to  Maria  Edgeworth  or  Hannah  More. 
We  cannot  but  trust  they  will  ever  enjoy  their  present  popularity.  The  present  publicatiot 
ri-i  ■-  -  J-  -"  'bp  crrarpo  arK^  <Dlipitipi>  nC 'na^  nrevinu.''  writines.  with  added  intoraat  ami  v»lu«  '  — 


D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY'S  LISl 


ILLUSTEATED  WOEKS. 


3.  Bl..  IJIninmngljt,  S.  5. 

6  Uli  SA  VIO  UR,  WITH  PROPHETS  AND 
APOSTLES. 

A  Stories  of  Eighteen  highly  jiriislted  Steel  Engravings^  de- 
signed expressly  for  this  Work.  With  Descriptions  by  various 
A.i.ierican  Divines.  Imperial  Octavo.^  handsomely  bound.,  $7. 
Morocco  extra.,  $10.  Do.  Colored  Plates^  $15.  Morocco  extra., 
tcith  Oval  Painting  on  Plate  Glass  in  centre.,  $15.  Do. 
Colored  Plates,  ^2Q.  Papier  Mach6.,  frame  in  'morocco.,  $12. 
Lo.  Colored  Plates.,  $18.  Plate  Glass.,  laith  superb  painti/)ig 
on  'whole  of  sides,  $25. 

"Tlii^  .*upeib  volume  may  be  oonsiflereil  the  third  of  a  series,  of  which  the  'Women  of  the 
Bible'  ;i.]iJ  tlie  'Women  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament'  were  the  annual  precursors.  Ei.^hteen 
fine  eni^riviiigs  by  Fmden,  E^leton,  Mote,  Eyles,  and  Cook,  embellish  the  work,  all  of  them  from 
orisiiml  desisfos  made  expressly  for  this  publication.  The  subjects  are  our  Saviour,  the  Evan- 
gelisif,  i,he  Apostles,  David,  Sulomon,  Isaiah,  Ezekiel,  and  Malachi.  The  designs  generally  ara 
exceedingly  tiuihl'ul  to  the  ideal,  and  as  ensravings  are  of  the  highest  order  of  merit.  They  are 
truly  exiiuisiie  •  •  •  •  We  can  scarcely  conceive  of  a  work  more  commendable  as  a  gift- 
book,  iis  interior  and  exterior  being  alike  attractive  to  any  person  of  pure  and  elevated  taste. 
There  is  nothing  ephemeral  or  perishable  about  it — it  is  a  book,  not  for  a  season,  but  for  all 
time.''—  Commercial  Advertiser. 


U nifnrm    ivith    the  above    (a    neto    Edition). 

W.  1\  ipragnB,  S.  D. 

WOMEN  OF  THE  OLD  AND  NEW 
TESTAMENT 

A.  S':ries  of  Eighteen  exquisitely  finished  Engravings  of  Femak 

Characters  of  the  Old  and  New  Testament.     With  Descriptions 

by  eminent  Americom  Clergymen.  Roan.,  $7.  Morocco  extra,  $  1 0. 

Colored  Plates,  $15.    Papier  Mach^,  $12.     Colored  Plates,  $15. 

"  We  can  assure  our  readers  that  they  will  find  in  this  volume  specimens  of  the  most  chaste 
and  finished  style,  and  delineative  passages  of  the  most  exquisite  character.  He  who  presen'a 
to  mother  or  sister,  wife  or  daughter,  loved  one  or  friend,  this  substantial  and  elegant  volume, 
will  not  only  indicate  his  confidence  in  the  reSned  and  elevated  taste  of  the  recipient  of  so  hand- 
Bome  a  gift,  but  will  aid  in  giving  a  still  loftier  tone  to  taste,  by  mingling  with  its  gratification 
Ihe  strength  and  purity  of  earnest,  moral,  and  religious  sentiment." 


OF  THEIR  RECENT  PUBLICATIONS. 


!Hgnp3  ItrirklnnL 
THE  q  UEENS  OF  ENGLAND. 

A  Heiies  of  Portraits  of  distinguisJied  Female  Sovereigns,  drawn 
and  engraved  by  the  most  eminent  Artists.  With  Biographical 
and  Historiad  Dcscrijotions.  Imjocrial  Octavo.,  elcgatitly  bowul 
in  Turkey  morocco,  $10  ;  do.  colored  jjlf^des,  $15  ;  do.  ivith  oval 
painting  on  plate  glass  in  centre,  $20. 

"  Tliis  brautifiil  volume  contains  portraits  of  the  most  accomplished  Queens  ot  England 
from  ilie  eiiilie-:l  penoil  to  ihat  of  her  present  Majesty.  They  have  been  executed  in  the  finest 
sly le  of  eiiirniviiigs,  and  have  been  copied,  as  far  as  possible,  from  portraits  taken  in  the  youthful 
period  ol  their  lives.  They  present  the  charms  of  youth  arrayed  in  the  quaint  robes  of  royalty 
of  ihe  lime  ol  each.  The  accompanying  biographical  sketches  from  the  pen  of  Agnes  Strick- 
land are  done  with  great  fidelity.  Their  aim  is  to  spread  before  us  the  characters,  the  feelings 
and  the  passions  of  the  woman,  as  well  as  the  grandeur  of  the  Queen.  As  a  Gilt-Book  this  is 
unsui passed  in  tastefulness  or  attractiveness." — Courier  and  Enquirer. 


Mm  :i  3.llr3ntns!i. 
EVENINGS  AT  DONALDSON  MANOR, 

Or  Tltc  Christmas  Guest.    Illustrated  ivith  Ten  Steel  Engravings. 
Octavo,  cloth,  gilt  edges  and  sides,  $3  ;  morocco,  $4. 

'•  The  plan  of  ihis  volume  is  admirable,  and  it  is  fully  sustained  in  the  execution.  Under  the 
plensins  guise  of  social  evening  conversation  of  a  gentleman  of  intelligence  and  fortune,  are  in- 
troduced a  series  of  sketches  of  real  or  fictitious  life,  as  diversified  in  subject  and  incident  as  the 
sketch-book  of  the  tourist,  and  yet  all  linked  together  by  the  charm  that  invests  the  circle  in 
which  they  are  told.  Someiimes  a  story  grows  out  of  a  picture  taken  casually  from  the  ample 
(lonfolio,  ."omeiimes  out  of  an  incidental  remark  in  conversation,  sometimes  it  is  more  formally 
imroduced  by  that  capital  ftory-teller  Aunt  Nancy,  to  whom  all  lend  a  ready  ear, but  each  story 
comes  in  naturally  by  itself,  and  sharpens  the  appetite  for  others.  There  is  a  charming  ease 
and  grace  of  style,  a  graphic  power  of  description,  and  a  cordial  sympathy  with  the  beautiful, 
Ihe  pure,  the  true,  and  the  good,  which  bind  one  to  the  volume  with  a  resistless  attraction,  till  ita 
rich  and  varied  contents  hav-»  all  been  transferred  to  the  mind  and  the  heart  of  the  leader." — 
The  Indcpenden '. 


(0.  ^i  11.  %mn. 
A  BOOK  OF  THE  PASSIONS. 

illustrated  ivith  Sixteen  splendid  Steel  Engravings,  from  Draivings 
by  tlic  most  eminent  Artists.  Octavo,  cloth,  gilt  edges  and  sides, 
$3  50  ;  imitation  morocco,  $5  ;   Turkey  morocco,  err  calf,  $6 

"  In  this  elegant  volume  one  hardly  knows  which  most  to  admire,  the  text  or  the  illustra- 
tions ;  while  the  former  portray  in  elegant  and  graphic  words  the  soul-stirring  operation  of  the 
etronger  passions,  the  latter  presents  to  us  finely  executed  and  spirited  representations  of  their 
conflicting  power  in  the  bosom  of  youth  and  beauty.  It  is  an  estimable  book,  and  worthy  of  th« 
liigh  reputation  of  the  writer  and  the  artists  engaged  in  its  preparation. 


D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY'S  LIST 


3.  351.  iUniiiiDriglii,  D.E 

THE  PATHWA  YS  AND  ABIDING 
PLAGES  OF  OUR  LORD. 

Illustrated  in  tlw.  Journal  of  a  Tour  through  tlic  Land  of  Prmnise 
Twenty  Engravings  on  Steel.  Quarto.  Cloth.^  $4 ;  gilt  side: 
and  edges,  $5 ;  m&rocco,  bevelled,  $7  50. 

"Thi.s  wnrk,  as  its  title  indicates,  contains  the  narrative  of  a  tour  through  the  Holy  I,and, 
with  a  special  reference  to  all  those  places  whose  names  have  heen  rendered  familiar  and  dear 
lo  the  Ciirisiian  liy  our  blessed  Lord's  connection  with  them  during  the  period  of  His  incarnation. 
Bethlehem.  .lerusalein,  Nazareth,  Bethany,  the  Mount  of  Olives,  the  Sea  of  Galileo,  and  many 
other  places  of  like  interest,  have  been  fully  described.  Correct  views,  too.  of  many  oftlie  most 
proiTiiiicrit  scenes  in  Palestine,  from  the  pencil  of  Bartleit,  engraved  on  steel  in  the  highest  style 
of  art,  have  been  introduced.  These,  with  the  minute  explanations  accompanyinsthem,  present 
to  the  reader  u^  this  volume  as  perfect  a  picture  of  the  actual  appearance  of  Palestine  as  can 
well  be  obtained  without  a  personal  visit.  Interspersed,  too,  throughout  the  .lournal  are  obser- 
vations upiin  the  past  history,  the  present  condition,  ami  the  physical  characteristic",  of  the  land 
of  the  Bible,  which  will  be  found  not  only  lo  assist  mateiially  in  understanding  many  parts  oJ 
the  Sacred  Volume,  but  also  to  add  interest  lo  its  (>crusal.  A  volume  which  thus  ofieis  to  t^ke 
the  reader  upon  a  walk  through  the  Pathways  and  to  visit  the  Abiding  Places  of  our  Lord, 
appears  not  unseasonably  at  a  lime  when  the  whole  world  is  preparing  to  celebrate  the  anniver- 
sary of  His  Nativity." 


%\  Dnrinus  cBmiiunt  tHritBrs. 
SACRED  SCENES, 

Or  Passages  in  the  Life  of  Ovr  Saviour.     Illustrated  tcith  Sixteen 
Steel  Engravings.      l27no,  cloth,  gilt  sides  afid  edges,  $1  75. 

"'Sacred  Scenes,'  is  intended  to  illustrate  the  most  iniportant  passages  in  the  Life  of  our 
Saviotir,  by  means  of  pictorial  embellishments,  and  by  ilescriptions,  both  in  prose  and  ver.se,  by 
several  eminent  writers.  The  latter  are  principally  selected  from  the  works  of  eminent  itivines, 
and  are  characterized  by  their  deep  feeling,  weighty  thoughts,  and  propriety  of  style.  The  en- 
gravings portray  many  of  the  most  striking  scenes  of  the  Sacred  Narrative  with  fidelity  and 
etTect.  The  volume  will  come  within  the  means  of  all  who  wish  to  make  a  present  of  genuine 
value,  without  too  high  a  cost." 

THE  FOUR  GOSPELS, 

\i  ranged  as  a  Practical  Family  Commentary  for  everry  Lay  %', 
the  Year.  Edited,  vnth  an  Introductory  Preface,  by  Stephen 
H.  Tyng,  D.  D..,  Rector  of  St.  George's  Clmrch,  Neiv-York. 
Illustrated  with  Twelve  highly  finished  Steel  Engravings.  A 
handsome  Octavo  volume  of  over  500  pages.  Price  $2  ;  gilt 
edges,  $"2  50  ;  imitation  morocco,  §3  50  ;  morocco,  $4  50. 

The  present  work  is  a  familiar  Practical  Commentary  upon  the  Gospels  in  language  ex 
trtmely  simple,  aiid  in  the  character  and  matter  of  its  instruction  most  valuable  and  correct 
"  It  is  eminently  adapted  to  open  the  precious  and  imperishable  blessings  of  the  Gospel  lo  those 
who  familiarly  use  it.  It  will  be  a  laiihl'ul  and  attractive  guide  both  fn  tamily  reading  and  in 
the  private  study  of  the  young.  It  will  prove  to  all  who  employ  jt  for  their  insiructiou's  guide 
to  the  love  of  a  Saviour,  and  a  faithful  inierpreter  of  hi*  sacred  volume." 


OF   THEIK   RECENT   PUBLICATIONS. 


Mm  ill  >Bxm\i%  B,  D. 

SACRED  POETS  OF  ENGLAND  AND 
AMERICA. 

From  the  Earliest  to  the  Present  Time.  Illustrated  xoitli  Ten  SteeL 
Engravings.  (J.  new  improved  Edition.)  1  vol.  8i;o.,  cloth^ 
$2  50  ;  gilt  sides  and  edgcs^  $3 ;  imitation  mwocco,  $3  50 ; 
morocco.,  $4  50. 

"This  is  a  truly  elegant  book,  both  externally  and  internally,  and  will  be  one  of  the  most 
poiiular  p'ous  presents  lor  the  holidays,  li  is  filled  with  gems  of  sacred  poetry,  culled  with 
great  care  .tv  m  ilie  most  inspired  of  the  religious  hards." 

"  Both  the  editor  and  publishers  have  shown  great  and  good  taste  in  getting  up  this  beautiful 
volume,  and  it  cannot  fail  to  command  an  e.xtensive  sale.  The  illustrative  engravings  are  in  the 
finest  style  of  the  art,  and  each  of  the  numerous  specimens  is  introduced  with  a  brief  biographi- 
cal sketch,  which  greatly  adds  i8  the  value  of  ilie  work.  It  is  one  of  the  purest,  safes:,  and  most 
beautiful  gift-books  that  a  father  oan  present  to  his  daughter,  a  brother  to  his  sister,  a  husband 
to  his  wife." — Tribune. 


Enlitrt  fmm. 


THE  COMPLETE  WORKS  OF. 

Containing  his  Foems^  So?igs,  ami  Correspondence ;  loitli  a  new 
Life  of  the  Poet^  and  Notices.,  Critical  and  Biogi-aphical.,  by 
Allen  Cunnlngham.  ElegaJitly  illustrated  with  Steel  Engrav- 
ings. Royal  Octavo.  Cloth,  plain  edges,  $3  50 ;  cloth  gilt, 
$4  50  ;   Turkey  morocco,  extra,  $6. 

',*  This  is  the  only  complete  edition  published  in  the  United  States. 


SnliE  Biltnn. 
PARADISE  LOST. 

With  a  Life  of  the  Author,  ayid  Copious  Notes,  by  Sir  Egerton 
Brydges.  Octavo.  Illustrated,  ivith  illustrations  by  Mar- 
tin. Cloth,  plain,  $2  50  ;  cloth,  gilt  edges,  %Z  50 ;  marocc* 
extra,  $5. 


OF   THEIR   RECENT   PUBLICATIONS. 


/itj-fcBnB  Mink. 
THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WOPI^^S  OF. 

Now  first  collected.  Illustrated  with  fine  Steel  Engravings,  from 
paintings  hy  American  Artists.  A  neiv  Edition.  Octavo. 
Price.,  $2  50  ;  cloth.,  gilt  leaves.,  $3  ;  imitation  morocco.,  $3  50  ; 
morocco.  $5. 


POETICAL    WORKS  OF. 

[Collected  by  Jdmself.)  The  ten  volumes  of  the  Enghf,h  'Edition.^ 
complete  in  one  handsome  octavo  volume.  Illustrated  ivith  sev- 
eral splendid  Slcel  Engravings,  and  a  fine  Portrait  of  th& 
Author.  Price  $4  in  muslin  ;  or  extra  gilt,  tvith  gilt  leaves, 
$5  ;  Turkey  morocco,  $7  ;  or  on  cheaper  pa/:>f?-,  %nth  Portrait 
only,  price  $2  50. 


llnhrrt  iDntkif,  Vi.%. 
THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF. 

Including  Oliver  Newman  and  other  Poems  {noiv  first  published). 
Illustrated  with  elegant  Steel  Engravings,  and  a  fins  Portrait. 
One  handsome  large  octavo  volume.  Price  $3  50  in  cloth ;  or 
extra  gilt,  with  gilt  leaves,  $4  50  ;  or  Turkey  morocco,  $6  50. 


dprnrgc  lliilltins  Iriikll. 

THE  WAR  BETWEEN  THE  UNITED 
STATES  AND  MEXICO. 

Illustrated.  Embracing  Pictorial  Drawings  of  all  the  principal 
Conflicts,  by  Carl  Nebel,  Author  of  a  "  Picturesque  and  Ar- 
chceologicat  Voyage  in  MexicoP  With  «  Description  of  each 
Battle,  by  George  W.  Kendall,  Author  of  "  Tlie  Santa  F6 
Expedition."  Large  folio  size,  elegantly  colored,  $34 ;  in  a 
Portfolio,  $38  ;  half-morocco,  bound  as  a  volume,  $40. 

*.'  The  above  series  of  Llustrations  are  the  only  authentic  drawings  given  to  the  public  ol 
the  Great  Battle  Scenes  between  the  Mexican  antf  United  Slates  troops.  The  execution  o? 
>he  plates  are  vinsurpassed  by  any  similar  work 


16  U.    AI'PLETON    AND   COMPANY'S   LIST 


fAmm\  €.  Mmu 
GEORGE  OASTEIOT, 

Surnamed  Scandcrbeg^  King  of  Albania.     l2mo.     $1. 

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"  Tliis  work  is  equal  in  stirring  novel  interest  to  any  boos  of  romance,  while  at  the  sama 
lime  it  is  a  valuable  addition  to  History,  filling  up  a  gap  that  has  long  been  lelt  open  by  his. 
torians." — Buffalo  Commercial. 

"  This  history  is  finely  written,  in  a  pure  and  elegant  style,  and  as  a  whole  is  a  very  instructive 
and  entertaining  \o\ume."—Cliurch)nan. 


%.  €,  toninall,  M,%, 
MUSIC:  AS  IT  WAS,  AND  AS  IT  IS. 

l2mo.     62  cejzts. 

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music.  It  thereby  commends  itself  lo  all  the  lovers  of  this  delightful  art.  It  is  written  in  a  very 
pleasant  and  asreeable  style,  by  one  who  seems  thoroughly  to  understand  the  subject."— Coot- 
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iliillinm  antenn. 

FE ACTIO AL  MEEOANTILE  COEEE 
SFONDENOE. 

A  Collection  of  Modern  Letters  of  Business.^  ivith  Notes  Critical 
an  i  Ex'pla^uttory.,  an  Analytical  Index.,  and  an  Appendix.^  con- 
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l6mo, 

W'lllim  IDnriisinnrtlj. 

TEE  FEELUDE;   or   GEOWTH  OF  A 
FOETS  MIND. 

An  Antobiograpihical  Poem.     l2mo.     $1. 

"  As  a  poem  it  displays  that  elevation  and  reach  of  thought  that  consummates  purity  and 
beauty,  which  gives  to  the  Excursion  its  immortal  precedence ;  while  in  the  agreeableness  of 
its  subject,  and'in  the  warmth  of  its  emotion,  we  think  it  even  superior.  It  presents  a  mosi 
lovely  ideal  of  hfe  and  beauty,  and  abounds  in  pictures  of  exquisite  grace  and  matchless  powei 
of  expression." — Jmirnal  of  Commercr. 


D.   APPLETON  AND  COMPANY'S  LIST 


Snjia  Biltnu. 
THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF. 

With  Life  of  the  Author,  and  Notes^  by  Sir  Egerton  Brydges. 
A  neiv  Editio7i  {printed  on  new  type).  Illustrated  loith  Martin 
and  T%irncr''s  designs.  Octavo.  Cloth,  plain,  $3  ;  gilt  edges, 
$4  ;  morocco  extra,  $6. 


lit  IBaltcr  Irntt. 
THE  COMPLETE  POETICAL  WORKS  OF. 

Containing  many  Poems  never  before  piiblislied  in  this  Country. 
A  facsimile  of  the  Edinhurgh  edition.  Royal  octavo.  Illus- 
trated ivith  vinncrous  Steel  Engravings.  Cloth,  $3  50  ;  cloth 
gilt,  extra,  $4  50  ;    Turkey  morocco,  extra,  $6. 


3llr0.  IBrlliii,  of  lrnturki[. 
P  0  EMS   B  Y   A  MEL  I A  . 

A  new  and  enlarged  Edition.  Illustrated  with  Original  Designs 
by  Weir.  Square  octavo,  beautifully  printed.  Cloth,  $2  50 ; 
gilt  sides  and  edges,  $3 ;  imitation  morocco,  $3  50 ;  morocco, 
$4  50. 

POETICAL    WORKS  OF. 

Collected  and  arranged,  ivith  Illustrative  Notes,  by  Thomas  Moore, 
Lord  Jefrey,  Sir  Walter  Scott,  Bishop  Heber,  Samuel  Rogers, 
Prof.  Wilson,  J.  G.  Lochhart,  Thomas  Campbell,  ^-c.  Sfc. 
Hlustrated  with  a  fine  Portrait  and  several  elegant  Steel  En- 
gravings. Complete  in  otm  volume,  octavo.  Price,  plain  cloth, 
$4  ;  cloth  extra,  gilt  leaves,  $5  ;  Turkey  morocco,  $6  50  ;  or  on 
cheaper  pajier,  $2  50. 

*,*  This  is  the  only  American  eJition  containing  all  the  Notes  of  th«  London  copy. 


^ 


